Unofficial Appointments
by AyaAkamatsu
Summary: Set after Brotherhood, the official story of what happened to the Elrics. An epic consisting of romance and adventure. Edward finds that his last mission may be more than what he was assigned to do. EdxOC AlxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Edward Elric x Aiame Kuroshi Official Fanfic**

**First…**

**I am writing this for a friend as her Christmas present. It began as the idea to just write a oneshot for her but I felt I couldn't get it done by my set deadline. Then, one day in my Applied Tech class (**_**no offense to anyone who likes it, but it is the worst class in the entire world and I almost always spend it brainstorming story ideas**_**) I began developing a very drawn out, complex romance plot for a new Fullmetal Alchemist story. That being said, the updates for this story will be very staggered and uncertain. Thank you all for putting up with me!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

The dreary gray sky rumbled deeply above the rolling green hills of Risembool. Every individual raindrop could be heard as it hit the flat roof over Winry Rockbell's automail workshop. The blond mechanic sat at her desk, tweaking with the frame of the prosthetic leg sitting before her. She was rambling aimlessly; throwing out tips for her apprentice whom she'd assumed was taking notes. Aiame, her new assistant from Aerugo, however, was watching the swelling storm outside. She sat on a rickety wooden chair next to the window, her forehead pressed against the chilled winter glass.

Aiame wondered how bad weather would affect Aya once she got the automail surgery. The metal was in direct contact with her skin and would conduct the cold straight to her arm's central nerve cord. After knowing Aya for years, Aiame knew she would be standing on broken glass when she was with her. This would result in a slap upside her head – hopefully Aya would be in a good mood and use her flesh arm. Then again, sitting on a coast, poor weather in Aerugo was very rare. Maybe then they wouldn't have to worry about it.

"You know," Winry said, peering over her shoulder to see Aiame perched in the corner of the room, "You could start on the arm for your friend if you would pay attention."

Aiame didn't pry her hazel eyes away from the storm clouds. "I could make her arm now, I've learned enough. You've moved onto legs without giving me any time to put my skills to use," she sighed. "I'd like to build an arm first.

"I had you begin on the frame, you could finish it any time you wanted," the mechanic remarked. Aiame knew better than to fight her mentor at that point, as much as she wanted to. "I kept it on the bottom shelf in the closet if you wanna get to work."

The seventeen-year-old leapt from her seat, swiftly and cat-like, and darted across the room. She halted before the wide closet door. Aiame opened the closet and crouched down on her knees so she could see the bottom shelf at eye-level. She cursed Winry and her very sloppy handwriting; it was so small and crunched together that it was barely legible, especially on a dark rainy day._ It's worse than mine_, Aiame thought.

She found the case that held her friend's prosthetic buried under three other cases. Aiame slowly slid it out onto the wooden floor, careful not to cause any of the other cases to topple over. She then carried back to the extra desk Winry had set up beside the window for her. The metal latches _clicked _as Aiame opened the case. She cautiously set the frame on the desktop and pulled her tools out of the top drawer. Aiame felt a certain pair of cerulean on her as she worked. She tried her best to ignore the feeling and continued tightening bolts on the frame.

"You said that she was athletic, right?" Winry asked.

"Mm hm."

"Then I suggest using a lighter alloy for the fingers and the outer plating of the forearms. It will be much easier on her, especially since you told me that her build was a bit smaller."

Aiame mumbled again. She ducked to grab the tool box below the desk, taking out five cords to attach to the central nerve for each finger. Then she drew out a slim cord, about the size of a pencil, and began untwisting several wires at one end to connect with the central nerve cord. Aiame delicately attempted to twine the two wires together.

"Damnit!" she breathed, louder than intended, when she snapped the good end of the wire. "Well, at least it wasn't the main cord." _That took four hours to hook up correctly to the frame of her arm! _Aiame caught herself before she spat out how Aya should appreciate her arm after everything that she has gone through to make it; she really knew that even if the arm came out jacked up, Aya would love it. She ducked her head lamely.

How Aiame was going to put up with seeing Aya without her arm, she had no idea.

"There is a cord that's been replaced with stiffer inner wire," Winry informed. "It also handles contact with water better. That way, the limb can be completely submerged for up to an hour." The blond mechanic reached across her workspace into a tool box that held said cords. She held them up for show.

"Just toss 'em," Aiame grumbled.

"WHAT?" Winry clutched the cords tighter, holding them against her chest. She was shocked that an apprentice of hers would ever suggest something so plainly disrespectful to her precious automail. "I truly thought I had taught you better than that."

The redhead shot her a nasty look. "Excuse me." She rose from her seat, took one step towards Winry and snatched the cords from her outstretched hand. Aiame returned to her seat, returned to twiddling with her tools and tweaking bolts and wires on the prosthetic frame.

After nearly an hour of silence between the two, Aiame began to yawn. The sky beyond the window had grown darker than the dull gray the rain brought. Night would soon be falling over Risembool. Aiame pulled through her lack of sleep easily, she thought of going home from the holidays and everyone's reactions when she brings Aya her new limb. Leaving was the hard part, returning should be fun.

Winry retired from her workshop soon afterward, leaving Aiame by herself. The quiet was nice, not that having Winry around was ever very loud – just when she got worked-up about something. Six months had passed and Aiame had adjusted to the mechanic's overreactions. The work that went into studying automail before she could even pick up a screwdriver to start amazed her. It was no wonder that Aiame was reading and watching Winry work and taking notes for a month and half before she even began designing a simple frame. Of course, automail wasn't simple; it never was and the practice certainly would not make that exception for her.

Aiame began to pack her tools away into the desk drawers and the arm – which she had upgraded from a metal frame to a gangly mess of nerve cords strung through the finger plates – back into its case. She tucked it away on the top shelf in the closet and stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her. Her footsteps barely made a sound on the hardwood floor as she padded through the halls to the living room. As Aiame approached the front of the house, she heard two voices muffled by the thick walls.

"You could have at least called to tell me you were coming!" Winry scolded. Aiame could just imagine her mentor standing over whoever she was yelling at with one hand on her hip and the other firmly gripping her freshly polished wrench.

"Hey, hey, now! I thought we agreed that I still didn't have to make appointments," a male voice shot back at her. Aiame practically melted down into her shoes when she heard him speak. She did not want to admit to herself that a voice like his – firm and rough and almost childish – sounded like music to her ears, but deep down, she knew it did. "I have been doing this for years now, why is this one time any different?"

"Things have changed," she sighed. "I took in a girl from Aerugo as an apprentice a couple months ago; with her around I need people to give me heads up so I can take time away from teaching her." For that slight moment, Aiame noted, Winry actually sounded like an adult. Her voice lost her childish, immature undertone and sounded tired and overworked and dead. She felt guilty, as if she was making Winry stress over her. _Maybe I should apologize to her sometime_, Aiame thought.

"Let me guess, she probably got someone in trouble too? Why else would she travel across countries to Amestris, of all places?" The man was much lighter now. The palms of Aiame's hands grew slick with sweat, her cheeks flared. It was amazing how dead-on he was with his assumption. One bad day of sailing landed Aiame with a lifetime of guilt.

"Her friend back home lost an arm, that's all she will tell me. For all I know, it might not have been anyone's fault at all." At least Winry was on her side.

xXx

Aiame spent the next morning attaching the ball and joint system to the nerves in Aya's automail. It was rather hard for her to concentrate considering that Winry was working right beside her. Normally that wouldn't have been an issue, but she invited the man that showed up at the house the night before to join her. Aiame still hadn't gotten a good look at the stranger, but had gathered quite a lot of information on his personality. He had a tendency to raise his voice – usually because he was excited but also because of his strong temper – and was either very passionate about what they were talking about or bored out of his mind. She liked him but had a growing feeling that if they were ever to have a conversation that excluded Winry, they would not get along well.

Ignoring the pair of old friends was not as easy as it sounded; Aiame's mind was pressured to translate everything they were saying. Amestrian words and sentences were formed differently than in Aerugo. She couldn't speak the language fluently yet, Aiame still had to think about what she was going to say before it left her mouth. On the other hand, listening to it was rather easy. Aiame had followed most of Winry and the man's conversation until they began arguing. The faster back and forth people talked, the easier it was for Aiame to be lost among jumbled words.

By the time she was going to make herself lunch, the prosthetic limb that Aiame had dedicated her time to was nearly ready for the final plating that protected the nervous system. She carefully packed it back into its suitcase and slid all of her borrowed tools into the desk drawers. While Aiame was putting everything away, she kept in mind that she wasn't going to work on the automail again today. She may have fallen asleep early the evening before but the dark circles hadn't disappeared beneath her eyes after hours of sleep. A nap this afternoon does not seem like such a bad plan.

Dark golden eyes locked with hers from across the room. Aiame blinked. She blinked again. The voice she fell hostage to belonged to the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. His golden blond hair was tied in a pony-tail at the back of his head, leaving thick bangs to frame his tanned face. A smile was drawn on his rosy lips above his firm-set chin. Aiame bit down on her lip to keep her jaw from dropping.

"I forgot to introduce you two, didn't I?" Winry exclaimed, sounding overly joyful, shaking her head. "Edward, this is Aiame Kuroshi" – she gestured to her apprentice – "Aiame, this is Edward Elric" – she gestured to the blond man. It wasn't exactly how Aiame wished she could have been introduced but there wasn't much she could do now; she would have rather said her own name, forced a smile, and left. Winry didn't allow any opportunities like that, though. Aiame was stuck, so to speak.

"That was a nice arm you were building," Edward remarked.

It took Aiame a moment to realize that he was talking about the case sitting behind her. She thanked him. Her voice came across so normal that it surprised even her, she was sure she had been too quiet or shaky from the nerves but sounded nothing of the sort. Aiame commented on his automail, his left leg, and how she wouldn't have noticed it until Winry insisted on him rolling up his pant leg so she could get a good look at it – he walked so naturally with it, it was as if it wasn't fake. Talking to Edward felt so natural.

Aiame clapped her hands over her mouth in shock as the truth hit her like a ton of bricks. Talking to him was only easy because she was speaking Aerugian!

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking," Aiame babbled.

"That's okay…" Edward looked confused. He was quick to brush it off when he saw Aiame's face turning deathly pale. "What'd you say, anyway?"

"That your leg looks natural when you walk."

"Ah. I'd thank you but that's all Winry's doing."

Aiame smiled. "Of course it is."

Edward redirected his attention to the blond. "How long do you think it will be before my leg is ready?" he asked.

Winry shrugged but didn't look away from her work. "Can't say. How long will you be able to handle sleeping on the couch?"

Aiame chuckled.

"I have five days before I leave for Xing to visit Alphonse for the holidays."

"I'm sorry, Winry. I'm overstaying my welcome, I wasn't aware that the Amestrian holiday season was so close," Aiame apologized. This reminded her that she should talk to the mechanic later about taking a break for her own holidays and go home, possibly return with Aya so she can get the surgery. Now would not be a good time to mention this, however. Winry seemed to be in such a good mood.

Winry laughed. The cheerful sound echoed through the room. "The holidays aren't close!" she exclaimed between giggles. "Xing is across the desert, it will take Ed at least two weeks to get there."

"That sucks," was all Aiame said.

"Yeah," sighed Edward, "But I've got family and friends waiting for me. It's worth it."

Winry cut in, "Tell Al I said hi, okay? I won't be able to come like we talked about the last time you called. My work is cut out for me here."

Edward rolled his eyes. _Thank God Winry didn't see that or else she would have had a fit_, thought Aiame. Something about the look on his face told Aiame that Edward didn't really want Winry to accompany him on a trip across the desert anyways.

Aiame rose from her seat, as she had been itching to do for quite some time, and stepped around Edward's chair into the hallway. It was too hard for her to process her thoughts in the workshop, maybe some time alone or sleeping would do Aiame good. Yes, if she can't stop thinking about it, a nap is definitely the smart choice now.

After locking herself in her room, the engineer-in-training found that Edward was the type of person to make long-lasting impressions. She couldn't say whether that was a good or bad thing yet, mostly because she couldn't get his face out of her mind. He seemed so casual, which was a foreign concept to her considering that whenever she met strangers she was on-edge. Aiame could not fall asleep when she lay down; she was a bit busy thinking of Edward. It was amazing how she spent the time thinking how idiotic she must have sounded when she was apologizing to Winry for having no knowledge of the Amestrian holidays and not how she babbled to Edward in a different language without a second thought.

_Just forget it_, Aiame told herself, _it was better to say that than to take no consideration of it at all, right?_

**That's it for now. If you liked it, there is plenty more to come – no worries.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

**Where Winry makes a bad breakfast and Edward tries to make a new friend**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist**

Breakfast the next morning was awkward. Winry had woken Aiame up at nine, something she had requested the engineer do if she wasn't already awake, and forced her out of bed down to the kitchen. Edward had rolled off of the couch sometime during the night and had not been able to go back to sleep; he was happy to see that the others had finally decided to get out of bed. Pinako Rockbell, Winry's grandmother, had returned early that morning from a house call down the road; the poor five-year-old literally shattered his foot and got shards of metal stuck in his palm. The four of them crowded around the table to see plates stacked high with pancakes at each spot. When they sat down, Winry began to wonder why no one was doing anything more with their food than pick at it. Pinako was used to it, but neither Edward nor Aiame dared to comment on their hostess's terrible cooking.

"So, Edward," Winry sighed. Edward looked up at her with wide gold eyes. He shoveled another forkful of pancakes into his mouth, just in case she was about to point out his eating habits. "Where have you been researching lately?"

"Since you don't bother us with calls," Pinako added. Her old shriveling voice was rough, still hard for Aiame to listen to.

Edward groaned; his was mouth still clogged with food. It was as if bringing that up with him was just so unimportant and annoying. "I was in Creta about a week and a half ago. I heard one of their spies had gathered enough information on alchemy to form a chimera and left to look into it a bit more." His eyes grew dark, sad.

It went without saying that they felt sorry for something. Aiame felt lost, she had no idea what they were talking about. She slid her fork on its side across her plate, scraping all of the excess syrup into a glob along the edge. There wasn't much else that she could do to fill the time besides that. She wanted to ask what a chimera was, but knew that would get her in some kind of trouble.

Pinako lifted her pipe to her mouth and drew in a deep breath. "Have you traveled to Aerugo at all?" she asked, breathing a smoky cloud into the air around her. Aiame switched to breathing through her mouth until the fog thinned to be sure the god-awful smell was gone.

"No, in fact, I haven't had the chance." Edward's golden eyes shifted towards Aiame. However, the girl distracted herself by watching the old woman's pipe smoke swirl in the morning sunlight. "What is it like?"

Aiame jumped. "Oh. Um…I lived on the coast so it was normally warm, if not hot outside. There were a lot of green plants, trees, and – if you knew where to find them – colorful flowers that could grow to the size of your head," she explained. Once she said it out loud, Aiame realized how spineless Aerugo sounded. Then again, it was not as if she really knew what happened in her country. She lived on the southern most tip, in a small fishing town where almost every person did the same thing for a living.

"That sounds so pretty!" Winry exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Everyone says that…" Aiame muttered under her breath. Even when she traveled within the country with her family, people had the same reaction whenever she told them. "I don't spend much time on land, though. Aside from school, I like to go sailing."

Edward seemed puzzled, his golden brows pushed together as if he was trying to comprehend what she was talking about. "Sailing…?" he echoed.

"Yes."

"I knew one of Aerugo's main exports was fish, but I did not think that you would be going out so soon. I mean, like you said, you're still in school."

Winry smiled. "Ed, you did the same thing to join the military. It isn't surprising at all that Aiame used to fish for a living."

Laughter bubbled up inside Aiame. "Winry, I never fished," she informed the mechanic, chuckling. "Edward was right; I was still in school and therefore too young. It is not at all like Amestris where I come from. If you are still in school, you don't work. When I said sailing I meant that I go out on a sail boat for fun." Simply talking about the bay brought memories rushing back to her of the cool wind whipping her hair around her face as she picked up speed on the sailboat and the smell of the crisp saltwater filled her nose.

Winry cocked her head to the side, her blond ponytail piling on her right shoulder. Edward nodded absentmindedly; his expression showed that he wasn't paying attention to anything except for his own thoughts. Pinako rose from her seat – and by rose, Aiame meant that her feet were on the floor, she could really only see from the old woman's eyes up – and took her plate back into the kitchen. Aiame thought back to exactly what she had said and wondered if she had not explained it well enough.

"It sounds great," Edward said.

"It does. You should go there to research when you and Al meet up again," the mechanic suggested. "Aerugo sounds like a place that he would like."

Even if he had only been mentioned a handful of times, Aiame was already fed up of hearing of this Alphonse person. "It would be hard for you there. I have heard of scholars and linguistics majors who have studied Aerugian for years and still can't figure their way around the country because our language is so hard to learn," she told him, edging her voice with a bit of extra cruelty. Maybe that would serve as some kind of a sign that she did not want to hear about Al.

"Ed can manage!" Winry announced, beaming.

"_Because, suddenly, Edward can do anything!_" Aiame spat sarcastically, speaking in Aerugian. For once, she was glad that no one knew what she was saying. She smirked smugly. "I'm going to the workshop." She gripped onto her plate, a bit too tightly, and pushed herself backwards in her chair. She carried her plate to the kitchen country, scrubbed off the remaining food – and there was quite a lot of it left – and washed her hands. Aiame turned down the hallway for the automail workshop.

She took out the case that contained the arm, her small box of tools, and a miniature welding torch for small adjustments. After laying all of her things precisely on the desk top, Aiame sat down, staring at the half-finished prosthetic limb that begged for her attention. She had been working on this for over a week and only got most of her progress down yesterday, it was just sad. Needless to say, she was disappointed.

The door creaked on its hinges as it swung inward. Aiame assumed it was Winry and did not pay her any mind. The young engineer continued plotting out what to do next with the arm. She had finished the nerves within the hand, so that should be working fine in mint condition, and now had to begin working on the upper arm for better free-range motion. She screwed in the bolts onto the back plate of the arm that would connect with the port. This part of the engineering took an especially long time; if she got anything wrong, Aiame might as well start over.

She felt someone's eyes on her. She dropped all of her tools onto the table. Aiame spun on her chair to face the door. Edward leaned against the door frame. She did not know whether she wanted to keep working and try to ignore him or snap at him to leave.

"You can do that after only studying for six months?" he asked, taking a half step inside.

She shrugged. "I am a fast learner, I suppose."

"You must be to be keeping up with Winry."

Aiame got the slightest feeling that there was something aside a deep-running friendship between them. She made a mental note to keep a closer eye on Edward to see if that was true. "She is a great mechanic," she agreed, "A great teacher, too."

Silence filled the room. Aiame returned to tweaking bolts on the automail. If she continued to work on it nonstop, she might be able to finish it within a day or so. That would be good, the sooner she can get back to Aerugo, the sooner she might not have to feel so guilty about Aya only having one arm.

"Can you tell me what you are doing here?" Aiame asked finally.

"I came in here to switch out the plastic prosthetic that Winry gave me for my leg."

She could not argue with that. Winry told her that plastic prosthetic limbs were a last resort when it came to automail repairs; they were all built by standards and not by measures for the specific person. It must be very uncomfortable for him to have to lug around a hunk of plastic that does not do anything except give him support. Aiame wanted to suggest that he take an extra leg out of the closet but she knew that Winry made those limbs for other customers, she spent days making those for people who needed them from her. They were surely not made for a man who does not even have the decency to even call before he shows up.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that she has any extras."

Edward grunted, "Damn."

Aiame did not recognize that word; it was one that Winry never taught her to say. She knew there was probably a good reason behind it.

"You're another gear head, huh?"

"And proud." She turned to smile at him. His golden eyes were bright.

"You're not like she is, though."

"Thank you for noticing." Aiame tightened the last of the screws that held the automail together. From the center of the forearm down to the artificial hand, the automail was finished – metal plating and all. The upper section that connected with the port was ready to be used as well. The only part that required more attention was the section around the elbow. The ball and joint system were in place, but the nerve cords were not attached to the pulley system that allowed movement from there down.

"When is that arm going to be ready?" Edward asked.

"About the time you're going to leave," she told him.

"It seems like you're in a rush to get it done."

"Well, I should be. But I have been working on this for over a week now."

"Have you pulled any all-nighters yet?"

"No. I probably will tonight though, just finished."

Edward paused. "Who is it for?"

Aiame jolted. She bit her lip nervously, "My best friend. She lost her arm, obviously."

He was at least relieved that her answer was not a failed human transmutation attempt. Edward was glad that there was no such thing in Aerugo as alchemy. Although, Aiame seemed like she would not be interested in the science anyway. She did just admit to being a gear head, after all. "I'm sorry," he apologized. He was going to calm his curiosity by asking why she talked as if she was responsible for it, but he could answer himself. Edward figured that she was – or at least thought that she was.

**Sorry for the short chapter. I did like the way it turned out, though. I hope you guys did too.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Where Aiame finds out how bad automail really hurts, Edward realizes he has no idea how to really talk to women and they both get away from Winry's.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Aiame's eyes drooped. She forced herself to smile at the finished product half of a year's studying. Lying on the desk before her was what would become Aya's arm, constructed of slender steel and about one thousand gears and screws. Her heart felt heavy, even though her friend would not be asymmetrical anymore, she would not be whole. It would be all Aiame's fault. She did not know how she could live with herself, the idea of having to look at Aya without her flesh arm and know that it was because of her mistake would surely drive her crazy. Aiame sighed, carefully picking up the arm and strapping it into the case where it would stay until she could bring Aya back to Amestris with her.

Edward had kept her company throughout the day. For this, Aiame was grateful. Both Winry and Pinako had left to deliver automail to a store in the heart of the city, so the apprentice would have spent the day alone in the workshop. The two talked for a while; she learned how responsible Edward felt for his younger brother, especially after their mother passed away and he asked to hear more about Aerugo. Aiame could not answer all of his questions, he asked mostly about politics and the military – things that she had never paid much attention to. Though she would have like him to stay with her the rest of the night, Edward left at about midnight to get some shut-eye. One hour later, Aiame finished the prosthetic limb.

She could not decide whether that was a sign telling her that having Edward around helped her finish her work or just slow her down.

Just as she was walking up the stairs, Winry and Pinako slumped in through the front door. Aiame politely told her teacher not to wake her up in the morning and proceeded to lock herself in her bedroom. She flopped onto her bed, not bothering to change into pajamas, and fell asleep soon afterwards. An hour of deep sleep was enough to relieve her of stress, but she slept happily through the late hours of the morning into the early afternoon.

Her heavy sleep did not surprise Edward; Winry had been known to sleep for days at a time after working on automail rush-job. With nothing to do around the house, however, he did miss having Aiame around to talk to, even if he had only known her for little over a day. Winry had sprinkled her cereal with a few extra bitchy flakes that morning; Ed suspected someone was PMS-ing, so she was no fun to be around. Today was also the first day since he had gotten back home that Pinako spent not doing any sort of repairs, which he classified as a bad thing considering she had already shot three comments at him about his height. He sprawled out on the couch, in that way only men can sprawl, hoping something would come up for him to do.

His mind consisted of many things at once, all of them trying to dominate his thoughts. He was unconsciously reminding himself that he needed to stop by Central on his way to Xing to check in with Mustang – something he strongly did not want to do but thought it could be worth it considering that it would be the last time he would ever have to see the bastard. That led his mind to Xing itself and Ling, the Emperor that would surely be on Edward's case for one thing or another. There is no doubt that Lan Fan would still be by his side, maybe he should get Winry to donate one of her premade arms just to be nice. Oh god, he was still going to have to reconnect his nerves to the automail later, wasn't he? He knew it was for the best, there was nothing else he could have done to get Al _and _his arm too. Alphonse's face tended to linger among the others, coming and going as if it was trying to be considerate of Edward's swelling headache. _Just like Al would really do_, Ed thought with a smile drawn on his lips before finally drifting into sleep.

Aiame awoke to screaming. Her brain was a bit fuzzy from sleep; it took her a moment to realize whose yells had brought her around. Edward's. She knew that sound well, she had heard it before. Only the last time she had the displeasure of her ears being overwhelmed by the sound was in a hospital in Aerugo, when Aya's arm had to be sliced clean off and stitched together again. The sound was a pain that lie dormant in most beings, pure agony.

She sat up in bed slowly, one vertebrae at a time. She threw off the light comforter and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, so they dangled inches above the freshly polished floor. Aiame inched across the floor towards the door into the hall; her feet still tingled from numbness. After nearly slipped on the trip down the stairs, she walked even slower as she approached the door that leads to the living room. Another groan, it was not so much a scream now, echoed through the house. Aiame peered around the corner of the doorway, watching intently.

"Winry!" Edward grit through his teeth as he clenched his fists into tighter balls; his knuckles had turned white.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Just one more, I promise." She was on her knees in front of him, bent of his leg that she had propped up onto a stool, tweaking gears on his ankle. Aiame could see that the automail was only connected to the bolts of the left side of the port. Winry moved back up to his lower thigh, placed her wrench around the last bolt. Something clicked, cueing Edward's scream. Aiame flinched.

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Guess I should get to packing, then."

"Well, that is a shock," Winry mused. Edward looked confused. "You actually unpacked this time." She smiled thoughtfully at him. He grumbled an insult and folded his arms over his chest. "But why do you have to leave so soon? You originally said that you would be here for another two days."

He smirked. "Al and I made a deal that every time I got my automail fixed, he and I would spar. I can't just forget about him," Ed said. Aiame got the feeling that, even if that may be true, he was just using it as an excuse. Even after only three days of knowing each other, she knew that Edward was surely not the type of man to just sit around.

Aiame stepped inside the living room. "That sure looks like bundles of fun," she remarked. Her sarcasm was unnecessary but she did not want to let it show that she could nearly feel his pain as well. Showing pity was a clear weakness.

"Oh, you bet," Edward growled. Aiame had to be honest with herself, even when he was in pain and pissed off, his voice was delicious. She just feared the day when she was going to have to do the same thing to Aya, to cause her so much pain that she looked as if she was going to pass out.

"What is with that look, Aiame?" Winry asked.

The apprentice jolted. "Huh? What look?"

"You're scared. You did not think becoming a mechanic all the way through, didn't you?"

She nodded. "Even if she handles pain well, it won't be good."

Edward rose from his chair. He stretched out his legs, then his arms behind his back. "You talk of her so highly," he said, wiggling his prosthetic ankle. "If she is anything like you say she is, then I'm positive that she can handle it. And, coming from someone who has put up with it for years, it will not be that hard for her."

Aiame doubted his every word, but was careful not to let it show on her face.

"I am going upstairs to pack up," Ed announced. He darted out into the hallway. The two young women heard his footsteps, but they seemed to be a bit too loud.

"Are you going to pack too?" the engineer asked sadly.

Aiame raised her eyebrows. "Yes… Why do you say it like that?"

"Having just Granny and I here gets a bit boring sometimes," she confined. "I don't like that everyone is moving forward without me. They expect me to sit back and wait for them. Well, I'm tired of waiting."

She would have apologized, said that she was sorry, but Aiame knew that she would just be lying to them both. Instead, Aiame said, "That sucks." She held Winry's gaze for what seemed like forever. It went without saying that neither of them wanted to say anything. Winry had expected Aiame to change her mind about leaving for so long, to stay with her or at least offer to have her tag along, and when that did not come up she was, quite frankly, disappointed. Aiame did not want to get herself into any more trouble than she was already in, so she simply spoke the truth. Nothing wrong with that, right? "Um, I'm just gonna go upstairs and pack my bag for Aerugo."

Without waiting for Winry to reply, Aiame dashed around the corner and up the stairs. She did plan on going to her own room to pack, but when she saw Edward's door, she took it as an invitation. She curiously stuck her head in the doorway to find him kneeling on the floor beside a dresser. All of its drawers were wide open and clothes were thrown all over the floor. An open suitcase lay next to him, empty. Edward was not focused on packing at all; his golden eyes were locked on the window. Unfortunately, Aiame could not figure out what he was mesmerized by.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, stepping inside.

"Nothing." Edward began to throw unfolded clothes into his suitcase.

"Liar," Aiame spat flatly. She understood that if it was something too personal, he would not tell her. But, really, if that was the case, he could at least say that and not sound so rude. It was not just that Ed was secretive; it seemed that he did not want to talk to her anyway. She pouted.

"So what?"

"I…don't know, I guess."

"Of course you don't. Shouldn't you be packing too? I thought you were going to leave as well."

"Do you want me to leave?"

Ed flashed his most cheesy smile. "Maybe I do."

She sighed. "You're what? Eighteen, or something, and you still don't know how to talk to a girl?" she asked. "That's sad."

"Well, sorry, but I haven't had much of a chance to practice," he apologized. Edward did not care that she was interrogating him like this, it was not anything new. He and Winry had already covered most conversations like this so there is no way Aiame could make it awkward. He did like talking to Aiame, though, it was easy. Simple. Natural.

Aiame smiled. If she had said that to any other man – Ed could no longer be considered a boy – they would have fired back at her about her lack of social skills. Edward just gave her a straight-forward answer, the whole truth. That lead to her growing curiosity of what he was really like, what he was hiding from the rest of the world. Aiame felt that she was talking to the barrier he puts up to protect himself from others, not the real Edward. She knew that the harder she tried she was going to get farther away from his secrets. She should just let things be because, eventually, if they became friends, that wall would come crumbling down.

Still, even if it was a barrier, she could not help but like him.

Edward latched his suitcase together and hopped to his feet. Aiame had not realized before now that he was probably four or five inches taller than her. "I'm packed," he announced. "Bye, Aiame!" Edward was talking over his shoulder by the time he finished his sentence. It was one of the strangest goodbyes Aiame had ever heard. Short and sweet, just like Edward, as far as she was concerned.

Aiame converted back to her original plan of locking herself in her room after she heard Winry and Edward say their goodbyes downstairs. As opposed to Ed, and even after being here for sixth months, she had not completely unpacked. She tucked her shirts into one drawer and her pants into the one below it; any other clothing item was placed in the drawer on the very bottom. Everything else, such as her art supplies and novels had remained in her bags. She was not trying to keep herself from getting attached to Risembool or Amestris; she was just lazy and did not feel like organizing a separate place in her room for all of her artsy stuff.

Her bags were finally repacked again after an hour. She hauled them down the stairs, hoping that maybe Winry was in a good mood and would accompany her to the train station. A long walk by herself through a town she has been in all of twice did not sound all that appealing to Aiame. Not to mention lugging around two suitcases that would break her back. She arrived in the living room and threw her bags onto the couch, nearly throwing out her left shoulder.

"I guess I should be saying goodbye to you too," Winry sighed from her place on the couch, next to the suitcases. She stood up and stretched. "I'll see you in a week?"

"How about ten days," Aiame corrected. "It will take me more than a day to get there considering the trains only run to the boarder of Amestris."

"I guess that sounds good. Bye."

"Bye…"

That was all that they had to say to each other before Aiame left. She did not have the guts to work up the courage to ask Winry to come with her. She simply picked up her bags again and gave Winry a sorrow filled look as she stepped out the door.

**This chapter did not exactly turn out the way I wanted it to but it was good enough. I apologize to my readers about Edward leaving but, worry not; he will only be gone for one chapter. Au revoir!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Where Aiame returns home and learns that six months apart really don't matter to best friends**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Although they may be an affective mode of transportation, Aiame could see why they do not have trains for everyday transportation in Aerugo. They were usually crowded – she would not admit it, but she was a bit claustrophobic – and the pollution they gave off into the air was tremendous. She was forced to sit at the very back of the train in the public section with about twenty other people. There was nothing she could do for the boredom that had settled into her mind except for wait. The ride to Amestris' boarder was over two hours and a half hour from Risembool, which Winry had told her, was a reasonable time when arrived for the first time and was complaining about sitting for so long.

After putting up with the horrid train ride, she reached her stopping point – the slim board that separated Aerugo from Amestris. Aiame found an available cab just outside of the station that was willing to take her halfway to Caen, her hometown on the coast. She paid the man in advance with Amestrian money; she did not know the conversion but since you can still pay with that currency in Aerugo, the man took it gladly anyways. The rest of the ride was rather boring, just like the train; but she found that the closer the cab ride came to its end, the more nervous she became about seeing Aya. The last time they spoke with each other was over three months ago, just to tell Aiame that her friend was finally out of the hospital. She felt that it was her fault that Aya was in the hospital so seeing her face-to-face might not go over well. Having to look at her with only one arm did not sound like such a great idea to keep Aiame's conscious clear.

She took another cab ride that would take her directly into Caen. The whole time she was in the car she was clutching the case that contained the automail to her chest. She could not seem to get Edward's screams out of her head. The very thought of forcing someone to go through that made her stomach churn. Aiame did her best to try and shake the bad images from her head, she concentrated on the roads they were traveling and the scenes outside of the window. She could tell when they were getting close when things began to look distantly familiar, places just outside of Caen that she had been to before but did not go on a daily basis. As they reached the edge of the city, Aiame knew that she could walk from there. She knew the streets well enough and it would take much longer to walk. It gave her time to think about everything she was going to say.

Finally, after what seemed like days, the car pulled in front of a winding driveway. Aiame threw the money into the front seat and climbed out of the cab. She grabbed her bags and began walking towards the house. The house she approached was nothing special, just the standard two-story, middle class house you would find in Aerugo. Its red paneling was lined with windows and held a large front porch at its base. She hauled her bags and the automail case onto said porch. Aiame did not think of how nervous she really was until after she rang the doorbell.

The door swung inward, revealing an obviously middle aged woman with dark hair. "Aiame Kuroshi!" she exclaimed. "You have been such a stranger, you didn't even call."

"Hi, Natani," the mechanic greeted her. "And I'm really sorry about that, long-distance phone calls are pretty expensive."

"Oh, I understand," the woman assured. "Let me take those for you." Natani took two of Aiame's three bags from her hands, leaving her with only the automail. She led her guest inside and invited her to take off her jacket and stay a while. There was no awkward period for them; Aiame had practically lived at Aya's when she did not want to spend time with her own parents – which were often. "So, how was Amestris?"

"Great, really great." Aiame sighed. "Where's Aya?" To be honest, she had not expected that Natani would open the door. She had really pictured Aya bouncing down the stairs the flinging the door open so hard, it would dent the wall behind it.

"She's upstairs napping," Natani explained. "You showed up at a pretty bad time, her anemia has flared up again since the blood transfusions and she has been very sick lately."

Aiame did not know how she should respond to that, she was never very sympathetic and anything she said would sound like she was still apologizing for what happened to Aya. Then Natani would argue with her how it was not her fault, so on and so forth. She did feel terrible though, anemia sucks.

"You brought her a new arm," the older woman remarked, smiling, "How nice."

"It will hurt like hell to attach though."

"She's good with pain. She can manage. Why don't you take a seat in the living room, I've got to wake Aya up for her medicine. I'll tell her you're here."

"Fabulous." Aiame did as she was told and simply sat down on the armchair by the window. Once Natani was gone, she felt alone and depressed and nervous; three feelings that should never be put together at once. There were two possible outcomes when she sees Aya again, either she will slap her or be completely ecstatic to see her. Aiame prayed for the second option.

The bay could be seen from the side windows. She was mesmerized by the sight of cool waves rolling onto the already damp sand. The sail boat was tied to the dock, purple sails wrapped around the mast, rising and falling with the tide. She wondered if Aya had gone out on the water since her accident. She knew that Aya had not. Natani probably had gotten new ropes for the sails and the dock, though, just to keep anything new from happening.

It was windy that day, the perfect day to pick up speed while out on the water. Even though she was clearly against it, Aiame had gotten Aya to go out sailing with her. At first, everything had been fine; they untied the boats and sailed far away from the shore. The waves were perfect, not too choppy but not flat either. Aiame could see the smile on Aya's face as she navigated her way through the waves.

One huge gust of wind seemed to wipe the smile away as it swept past. The boat heeled, the sails began to fly away from the mast. Aya dove for the ropes to keep her boat from tipping over. Aiame sailed closer to her, trying to get a glance of what was happening as she called out for her. She did not see how it happened, but a rope had gotten twisted around Aya's arm. Aya struggled to remove it, yelling at the top of her lungs. Aiame did not realize that she was not screaming in frustration, but in pain, until the whole boat tipped over. The water around where Aya had fallen in had turned red. Aiame felt worse that seasick.

Thanks to her life vest, Aya managed to kick over to Aiame's boat. She clung to the railings with her left arm for dear life. Her right was beaten and bloodied, drenched with the foul red liquid. After helping her on to the boat, Aiame panicked. She could not to a thing to help. Aya ripped a strip of fabric from her life vest and wrapped it around the flap of skin that was at risk of being ripped from her body.

Aiame had somehow worked up the courage to sail back to shore. Aya's boat reached the docks about fifty meters down from their dock after being carried by the current.

By the time they reached the house, Aiame was to fear-stricken to drive to the hospital. Natani, Aya's aunt, was thankfully good under pressure. She tied a bandage around Aya's arm and drove the two girls to the emergency room. The doctors announced that the wound was not fatal, although after falling into the bay, bacteria from the water had gotten inside Aya's bloodstream. The blood poisoned would eventually shut down her nervous system and if they did not do anything soon, Aya would have no chance of living.

Aerugo is not, unfortunately, a medically advanced country like its neighbors. Aya was put on a heavy dose of laughing gas and rushed into surgery. The doctors cut of circulation in her right arm and basically sliced off her limb. She was placed in the extensive care wing of the hospital after being stitched up and spent the next three weeks in rehab in nonstop rehab before she was allowed to go home. Even now, she is still going through rehabilitation.

Aiame shivered, the Akamatsu house felt colder than she remembered. Footsteps shuffled across the floor above her, she wondered if Aya could walk by herself yet. As an anatomy freak, she knew that you need both arms for proper balance; that you could barely stand with only one.

"Tell her that she can go back to Amestris or wherever the heck she was!" Aya exclaimed; her voice echoed down the stairway. "She is just going to break down into a million and two pieces anyway." Aiame could not argue with that, she knew she was right.

"No, she only left to study automail engineering because you lost your arm." It was amazing that Natani could still sound calm and collected when she is talking about something like her niece loosing her arm. "You are going to be pleasant and go down and talk to her. Got it?"

"And what if I don't want to be pleasant?" she fired back.

"You'll be grounded."

She twiddled her thumbs and wondered that if she picked up and left now, would Aya be glad she would not have to put up with her or upset that she did not get to say anything to her.

When she looked up, Natani was helping Aya down off of the last step. From her angle, it appeared to Aiame that Aya was normal, whole. She turned at the foot of the stairs, revealing her sad, lopsidedness. A pang struck Aiame's heart when she saw her straight-on, a lump rose in her throat. She knew that she was not ready for this. She reached to her feet to grab the case that contained the automail limb she had prepared. Aiame held it up for show, smiling.

Aya's green eyes brightened. "What are you doing with that?"

"You're the smart one, what do you think?"

"You did that?"

"No, I just stole it from Winry," Aiame remarked.

"The sarcasm was unnecessary."

The redhead shrugged, smiling. "I don't think so."

"Of course you do," Aya sighed. She gave Aiame the look, silently asking how she was going to have some metal mechanism was going to be attached to her body and connect with her nervous system so it would work like her flesh hand. Aiame did not understand.

"I hope you don't mind," Natani cut in, "But I did some researching to find a surgeon that could perform an automail operation. All we need to do is call him and the surgery can be set up by tomorrow. That is, if Aya is ready."

She raised her eyebrows in shock. "What?" Aya demanded. She has gone through five surgeries in the past six months; she does not want to put up with a seventh. Having an arm again is a one in a lifetime chance, however, and Aiame would be offended if she did not go through with it. "Okay, sure, fine…"

"And then, you know, come back to Amestris with me," Aiame said.

"Since when was that part of the plan?" Natani asked.

"Since when is there a physical therapist that specializes in automail rehab in Aerugo?" Aiame asked.

"True."

Aya groaned. "Fantastic, more rehab."

**Wow, that was a short chapter. But we made some advance in plot! Yippee!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**In which Aya gets her new arm and you, the reader, gets an extremely short chapter because the authoress is lazy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

The lights in the Akamatsu household were to be turned off at sharply midnight, no later under any circumstances. Natani thought that was reasonable, especially considering that she was currently the guardian for two teenage girls. Even if Aya was a stickler for rules, she kept the lights on anyways. She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Aiame was tucked into a sleeping bag on the floor beside her bed, backside up. It was nearly two in the morning now, and the girls both showed no signs of drowsiness.

"His eyes were pure gold," Aiame exclaimed, throwing her left hand out to the side dramatically. Aya rolled her eyes; her friend had been going on about this man, Edward, who she had met in Amestris for over ten minutes now. "And he had hair to match! He was the most gorgeous man I have ever freaking seen. I guess they really do have it better in Amestris after all."

"Sure, of course they do," Aya sighed, rolling onto her side. A sharp pain shot through her body from the stump where her arm had been. She grits her teeth. Of course, if I was in Amestris, I would not have had to put up with a wait for automail. "Why are you so hung up on this guy, anyways? I get it, he is gorgeous, so what?"

"Because he was different than all of the other guys I have meet here," she explained. "I don't want to sound like a pathetic little fangirl, but there was something really special about him."

"Good special or short bus special?" Aya giggled.

Aiame would have reached up to hit her, but knew that she would only feel guiltier about it later. "That is not funny!"'

"I think it is just hilarious!" She smirked evilly. Any other time she would have said this, Aya knew that Aiame would have fought back against her. She figured that the only reason she was not this time was because she pitied her. Aya knew that she was not a weak person, she never had been, and she hated when people thought so. It was so uncool. "I can't believe you anymore," she muttered to herself.

"What?"

"Nothing…"

The hospital room smelled heavily of lemon-scented cleaning products, and even if she was unconscious, Aya's nose kept twitching from the disgusting fumes. She had kept fading in and out of consciousness. Every time her eyes fluttered open, she caught glances of Aiame and Natani standing over her or sitting beside her bed. She tried to force herself to stay awake around the third time she woke up, but a splitting headache forced her back to sleep.

Eventually, the medication began to wear off and Aya could keep her eyes open. Sweat-drenched strands of her hair clung to her sticky forehead. She found that her legs were fine; she began by wiggling her toes and then bending her knees. But as she tried to move anything above her waist, it became harder. Her waist was stiff; her torso felt as if it was being weighted down by a coating of lead instead of sweat, and her arm was completely numb. After six months of being lopsided, Aya learned to always examine the stump where her right arm had been. Instead of finding a patch of rough skin where the stitches had held together, Aya saw that there was now metal plating drilled into her collar bone and halfway down her abdomen. New strips of dark scars that stretched up to the arch of her neck were now visible along with new stitches. She did not think that her skin would have to have been torn again.

Aiame was twiddling her thumbs in her lap; her chin was tucked against her chest. At first, Aya thought that she had not noticed she had woken up yet, but then she realized she was just avoiding her. _She can just be so idiotic_, she thought.

"Hey, honey," Natani whispered, pressing the palm of her hand against Aya's damp forehead. Her aunt's skin was chilled. The subtle wrinkles on her face had dug deeper into her skin; it was obvious she was worried sick. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than you are," Aya sighed with a smile. "You look like a wreck."

She forced herself to grin. "I know. Does anything hurt? Do you need a doctor?"

"Nothing hurts, no. And I don't think I'll need a doctor but I do want my new arm as soon as possible." She pointed her toes, stretching her legs out. Aya meant that to get Aiame's attention, but failed to do so. She knew that her friend was acting like she does at most other times there is something hard to deal with; Aiame is avoiding the problem immaturely and acting as if it is not there because she has a fear of it. She can be such a child.

As it turned out, Aiame could woman-up when she needed to. It may have taken well over two hours, but she did connect the prosthetic limb to the automail port. Aya bit her lip to keep from screaming, it was as if her arm was being torn off for a second time. Aiame was surprised that it did not bother her much; she had forced her to think of Aya as a patient and not as a friend. That way, she would not screw anything up and have to build a whole new arm.

xXx

Aya bounced forward and dove towards the ground. She sprang over, flinging her legs over her head. She landed on both feet, her arms held proudly above her head. Her lips were drawn back in a bright smile as she lifted her chin. "Six months and I've still got it!" she announced. Out of all the things Aiame thought could be the first thing to do with her new arm – including hit her for being so careless in the first place – Aya chose to do something as childish as a cartwheel. She was beaming though, so that meant something went right. It must not have been painful. Aiame had not screwed it up, for once!

"That's fabulous!" Natani exclaimed, clapping her hands together. She was smiling as well. Aiame knew that she was smiling for the same reason she was, because it was so relieving to know that Aya would not be miserable and stuck as a cripple for the rest of her life.

"Yeppers! Now Aiame and I can get going to Amestris so she can get back to her training and I can get on with rehab!" Aya hated rehabilitation sessions the first time around, she still was not able to move on her own. Maybe since she was going to be taking care of herself, she could work harder and not have Natani babying her.

This statement shocked Natani. Her niece was already so excited to get back on her feet and leave home? That was not supposed to happen, especially not so soon. The girl was only sixteen, for crying out loud! "You are going to leave so soon?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, the sooner I start with rehab, the sooner I can come home, right?" She looked to Aiame for reassurance. "Then I get to meet that Edward you were talking about too!"

Aiame could not help but smile. "Yeah, hopefully you can meet him too."

**I am so very, very, very sorry that this chapter was so short! It took me all of forty-five minutes to type up but days to think of. And I promise, Edward will be back in the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Where Aiame is stuck translating and ends up addressing her sins.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Aiame felt at home at Winry's, she had been there all of one hour and she felt better there than she had the entire three days she had been home in Aerugo. The blond mechanic offered the pair seats at her kitchen table while she cleaned up her work station. Aya kept glancing over at Aiame for guidance, as she had no idea what Winry was saying. Aiame completely forgot that Aya could not speak Amestrian whatsoever!

"_She said she was going to organize her automail workshop before she could sit down with us_," Aiame explained. Aya nodded. They both knew from the start that it was not going to be easy for Aya to stay here, especially when Aiame had to turn back and forth translating everything that was being said.

"Okay, it's all tidy," Winry said, bouncing back into the kitchen. "Granny would have my head if I wasn't being a good host, so, is there anything I can get you, Aya?" Aiame just_ loved_ how her boss did not care that she was sitting right beside her new guest.

Aya blinked in confusion.

"Do you need anything?" Winry repeated at the top of her lungs, making her hand gestures a bit overdramatic as well.

"For god's sake, Winry, she isn't deaf!" her apprentice exclaimed. "Aya doesn't speak Amestrian, is all. _Do you want anything_?"

"_No, I'm fine_," Aya said. "_Tell her that she doesn't have to worry about me. I'm not even here_."

Aiame chuckled. She knew that Aya was independent; having other people do things for her was probably killing her after this long. "She says that she isn't even here, she's fine for now. But if you are going to make anything, make it for her too. We don't need her being so stubborn that she doesn't say anything when she needs it," she told Winry.

"Gotcha," Winry nodded. She pulled a chair out and sat down across from Aiame.

"_What did you tell her_?" Aya demanded.

"_Nothing important_," the redhead assured her friend. For whatever reason, Aya did not believe her.

Heavy footsteps stomped down the stairs. "Winry!" a man growled. "Why are you being so loud? You said it would be alright if I fell asleep and I assumed that meant it would be quiet!"

Aiame's head was flooded with a torrent of conflicting emotions. That was Edward. She was so excited to see him again; her heart was pounding nervously inside her chest, yet she was scared to see him if he was just going to be pissed off at everything. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Aya's eyes lit up; she knew who it was without understanding a word he said. Aiame nodded, letting her know that she was correct. "Well, good morning to you too, sleeping beauty!" she called to him.

The footsteps were cut short. Edward then dashed into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his golden eyes. "Oh, it's you," he sighed.

"Nice to see you too, Edo," Aiame smirked.

As Edward glanced around the room, his line of vision locked on Aya. Their eyes met; she was quick to look away, blushing. "Who is she?" He expected her to answer, and since she was probably Aiame's friend, with a bit of sarcasm edging her voice, but was very confused when she did not even open her mouth. He immediately noted her as very strange.

"Don't give out guest that look, Edward!" Winry snapped at him, whipping her silver wrench out from her back pocket. He jumped backwards. "She is from Aerugo and doesn't speak Amestrian. Her name is Aya."

Aya lifted her automail hand above the table, giving him a salute-like wave. She figured that Winry was introducing her since the only part of her sentence she caught was her own name; the way it rolled off her tongue was strange. It did not sound as pretty in Amestrian.

It was obvious that Edward did not know what to say, that he was at a loss for words. He did not let that bother him, however, and he tried to cover it up as best he could. He marched across the kitchen to the pantry against the back wall. He was hunched over, searching for something appetizing, for a good five minutes before deciding that Winry had no good food and gave up. Edward instead plopped down into the chair beside Winry, sighing.

Aiame caught herself before she had been looking at Winry for too long, her teacher was giving Edward quite a nasty glare. She could only guess what the blond was thinking; Ed was probably going to pick and leave Risembool again. She could not help but grin. "How were the Xingese holidays?" she asked.

"They were great," he answered, shifting in his seat. Aiame raised her eyebrows, cueing him to continue off of that subject like she expected he would do in the first place. Edward did not catch the hint. Those who spoke Amestrian suffered through a long patch of dead silence.

"_I may not know what the heck you guys are saying_," Aya muttered, the first to speak up. "_But I don't get how you like him. He is just so quiet_." She smirked, folding her arms over her chest. Her movements were jerked, it was clear that she was not used to having automail yet. It did not feel natural to her.

Aiame glared at her, shrugging her shoulders. It was as if she was saying 'I can't help it'.

"What'd she say?"

"That you're quiet."

"Why exactly does that matter…? She can't understand what I am saying anyway."

Aya cut in, "_He is very rude_."

"_How can you tell_?"

"_Tone of voice; it is easy to pick up on in any language_," she explained.

Edward frowned. "Aiame, will you do me a favor and ask Aya what Aerugo is like?" he asked.

To Aya, the words that came out of Ed's mouth sounded much like Aerugian. He just spoke them with an accent and part of his sentence was missing, but she gathered the gist of it. "_Tell him that I'm sure you can give the same answer, translating an entire conversation would be a bit tiresome_."

"She says that I can give you the same answer she would," Aiame told him. "But I doubt it; she could give you more of a political answer that you probably want to hear. She is just being stubborn." It was embarrassing to admit that Ed would most likely enjoy talking with Aya more than he would with her. As Winry had mentioned, Edward had been in the Amestris military and would be looking for a more sophisticated answer – one that would come from actually paying attention in history class rather than doodling around the margin of a notebook. "_He wants to know about the government._"

"_Oh, okay then. Uh…It is very calm, for the most part. We don't have to worry about the economy much because of trade. There are squabbles between ours and foreign armies, but that doesn't happen very often. We have a fairly good relationship with Amestris, if that is what he is wondering_." Sharp cruelty edged Aya's voice as she added that last sentence. If Edward turned out to be some kind of military stuck-up, she would probably shoot Aiame in the foot for falling for someone like him.

Aiame repeated what Aya had told her to Ed. She recited it word for word and imitated her voice exactly – emphasizing every word and syllable as closely as she could for the translation. Edward seemed pleased with this answer, more so than when he asked the same question of Aiame. Needless to say, that pissed her off.

"If it is so peaceful there and you have such a great relationship with Amestris, explain the attack on the southern boarder earlier this morning."

"Our school system is very sheltered, our whole country is! We are only allowed to learn so much about our country's government and military and we are taught the exact same material every year. I have no idea why they would be attacking your country," she snapped.

"If you have no sense of _your_ own country's government or military, then how does Aya?" he asked curiously, raising his eyebrows.

Aiame sighed. This was going to be harder to explain than she thought. She was already worked up over fighting with him, keeping calm to give rational explanations on top of having trouble forcing words out of her mouth was going to be much more difficult than ever. "Her dad is an engineer for the military and her mom is the planner for the royal office. She may live in the country most of the year, but spends the spring holidays with her parents in the capital. It's hard for her not to know, to stay oblivious," Aiame sighed. "But for the rest of us, living in Aerugo is nearly as bad as living in a foreign country."

"Oh, I'm sure it is!"

"Edward!" Winry scolded, her voice soaring up into the highest ranges a soprano voice can go. "Like they would know about that, and you are acting as if they are responsible for it. That was extremely uncalled for."

"You don't have to keep acting like my mother, Winry. I can handle myself," Ed murmured, keeping his golden eyes low. Aiame's heart jumped, she did not know whether she should be offended and dwell on that or to move on and fangirl over how cute Edward looked when he was thinking.

"_I think we should start a rehab session soon_," the redhead said. "_We need to work on basic arm motions; you've been doing too much without practice._"

"_I could wave at Edward, couldn't I_?" Aya shot back at her. "_Can it wait? I hate rehab and I want to know what you were yelling at him for._" Nearly half a year spent in rehabilitation could really get to a person after spending so much time on it and not getting anywhere with it.

"_All I said was how shitty our school system is back home, nothing important_," she lied.

Aya was confused. "_What does that have to do with anything_?"

"_I guess I can explain it later_. Winry, would it be alright if I used the workshop for a check-up and rehab for her?" Aiame asked.

The blond mechanic nodded. "Sure, that's no problem. Although, I was going to take Edward in for some new plating – he got it caked with sand on his way home from the desert and I cannot risk it any getting into the gears or nerve cords."

Aiame rose from her seat, tugging at Aya's sleeve to drag her towards the workshop down the hall. She fought off the dirty-blonde's protests and got her to calmly sit on a stool by the door. Winry and Edward followed them inside. The apprentice and her teacher quietly discussed what to do about Aya and then if Winry should try one of her new alloys out on Ed's automail plating without telling him. Aiame told her to opt for the same alloy she was using before, that Edward would most likely realize the difference and returned her attention to Aya.

"_Um…_" Aiame paused to think. "_I suppose we should start the rehab with the start of your arm, your shoulder. _Winry, what should I have her do for basic shoulder movements?"

"Start with arm rotations. That will help keep stability in the port and the nerves stable," Winry answered.

This was not anything new to Aya once she began, all except for the new arm. She had to practice the windmill motion with her left arm to stay balanced when she needed it after her arm was torn off. After twenty-three forward rotations, the latches that connected the port and the automail began quivering. She stiffened her arm, a failed attempt to make keep it in place. Aya began to panic, worried that something was going wrong. Automail was not supposed to act like this, was it? She began babbling in Aerugian, talking so fast that it was even hard for Aiame to catch what she was saying.

"You're having her do it wrong," Edward piped in. He stood up; his pant leg was rolled up above his knee and his automail unfinished, and took a large, overstretched step across the room. He placed one hand over Aya's shoulder; applying some pressure should do well. Ed shifted her shoulder blade backwards and forwards before slightly popping it out and back into place. The shaking had stopped but sharp pain coursed through Aya from the reattachment of her arm. "Better?"

She nodded, wide-eyed. "Thank you, Edowado," she spat. During the near twenty-four hours she had spent in Amestris, Aya picked up on one thing; how to thank someone. Edward's name was just a given. Her thick accent coated her words, she was hard to understand. Ed barely recognized his own name when Aya said it.

"You're welcome," Ed smiled. "I just hate not doing anything when I know I can help." For that one moment, that slight instance where he forgot she could not understand a word he was saying, everything seemed settled between them.

Aiame felt her anger begin to swell in her chest. Her boiling blood coursed upwards, heating her face. She tried to act as if nothing was wrong, that her face was not as red as a tomato. She could not help but be a little jealous; if there were any problems with Aya's automail, she and Winry should be the ones to fix it, Edward can mind himself. Aiame drew in a deep breath of air, a trick to help pale her cheeks, and grabbed a screwdriver off of the desk. "Here," she said, yanking on Aya's automail. She began tweaking mindlessly at the screws around the port.

Aya's gaze shifted from Aiame, to Winry, and to Edward's automail – she did not dare to look him in the face. She glanced back up at the blond mechanic, who was giving her a look that showed she had no idea what Aiame was doing. She pulled her arm away from her friend. "_It was fixed before you started messing with it_," she sighed.

"_It was not_," Aiame protested.

Winry cut in, pulling the screwdriver out of Aiame's hand. "I think it's good for now," she said gently, turning to Aya. "You can come back into the kitchen with me. I'm sure some pain medication will do you good." She motioned Aya to follow her, just to make sure that she got the message. Winry strategically closed the door behind herself, leaving Aiame and Edward alone.

_Maybe I'm not doing such a good job of keeping it to myself_, Aiame thought.

"I was only trying to help," Edward said.

Aiame nodded. "I know."

"So…Why is it such a big deal to you?"

She was caught red-handed. How was she supposed to get away with lying to him? "I don't know," she admitted, "Maybe because if I have to put her through rehab in the first place, I would like to learn to fix problems like that. You won't be around to fix it for her all the time."

"You're jealous that I know how to fix one minor problem? Compared to everything Winry has taught you?" he asked. "That's surprising. I do suggest you let it go, though. I've seen envy up close and it's not pretty."

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'm sinful. Big deal. But I do think I have enough on my plate to deal with right now. It's my fault she has her automail anyways," she sighed. "Once I can see her without feeling like I should just curl up in a hole and die, I promise I'll deal with my own sins. I'm sure you have enough to worry about."

"I guess I do," Edward smiled. "That's probably why I've been called away to Central again."

She had no idea where that was, assuming it was a place. "Winry will be heartbroken. She already ranted to me the last time you left about how terrible it is being alone," she told him.

"She only says that because she has nothing to cling to but me," he said. That sounded a bit self-centered to Aiame, but when she began to think about it, it began to make some sense. "If you get the chance, I would tell her that she needs to try something besides automail. If she got out more, she wouldn't miss Al and me as much."

"That's probably true," Aiame agreed. "…When do you have to leave again?"

"Not for a few days," he answered. "I'm trying to put it off for as long as I can."

"Why would you do that?" she asked. Edward did not seem like the type to procrastinate, much like Aiame did, so there had to be a good reason for ignoring it.

"Fuhrer Mustang isn't exactly my favorite person."

**That was, by far, my favorite chapter to write so far. I hope you all enjoyed the plot advancement, now my story is actually getting somewhere. I also hope you caught my comment about Envy while they were talking. It was cheesy, but I couldn't help it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Where Edward gives out an invite and Aiame realizes how terrible doctors in Aerugo really are.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Winry could not cook for the life of her. However, Aiame could. After four months, she had still not completely adjusted from waking up at seven in the morning for school. She took the time to use the extra hour to herself to make breakfast for the others whenever they woke up. It took longer than usual – probably because everything had to be done from scratch and she had no idea where the Rockbell's kept everything in the kitchen – but by eight o'clock, a stack of fresh pancakes, a plate of bacon, and a fruit salad were placed in the center of the table. She beamed at the table, proud of her rare ability to organize things outside of her head.

The first one awake was Winry, which was no surprise. The mechanic was usually an early riser to get right to work. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, took one look at the table, and announced that she would wait until the Aiame, Edward, and her granny woke up before she would eat. With that, she dragged her feet down the hallway towards the automail workshop. Shortly after, Aya and Edward woke up at just about the same time. They arrived in the kitchen at the same time, both taking the seat where they had been the previous night. To Aiame's shock, neither of them touched the food she set on the table. She raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Don't look at it like it's poisoned!" Aiame snapped at them. "Winry didn't make it, I did."

That was all Edward needed to hear before he forked over a pile of pancakes onto the plate sitting before him. Aiame was surprised how one man could eat as much as he did once he began; it was as if his stomach was a bottomless pit. Then again, she figured he had not eaten, well, edible food since he returned to Risembool. Aya was staring at him, wearing an expression of pure shock. There was no doubt that she was thinking the same thing that Aiame was.

"_How is your automail this morning_?"

"_Fine_," Aya answered, reaching across the table to snag the last two pancakes before Edward could.

"_Are you absolutely sure_?"

"_Yes,_" she grumbled.

Aiame pulled over a chair and sat down in between the two. "_Man, I hate dead conversations_."

"_Talk to Ed, I'm sure that you would enjoy it more than talking to me_." Aya shot her a glare before overdramatically turning her head towards the window. Saying she was giving off the cold shoulder seemed to take on a whole new meaning with her automail.

"_What was that supposed to mean_?" Aiame demanded. She received no answer this time.

Edward chuckled, his mouth clear of food. "What'd you say to her?"

"She is just overreacting. I didn't really say anything," she said.

"Is it being in a new country, or is she always stubborn?"

"I wasn't aware that you could pick up on that."

"It's kind of hard when you two are fighting right in front of me."

"I'm sorry about that." Aiame picked at the plate she had set aside for herself earlier. She was not really hungry but it simply sitting at the breakfast table and not doing anything seemed silly. "Um…" she stuttered. It was official; she had run out of time to be able to use her words well. Aiame could not think of a single thing to say to him. "Erm, tell me about your brother."

"Alphonse is my exact opposite," Edward laughed. The brought a shocking image of a terribly disfigured boy with shit-colored, greasy hair and muddy eyes into Aiame's mind. After thinking about that for another moment, she realized that even if that imaginary Alphonse could never be related to Edward; he just did not match up. "He is selfless in a way that most people can't understand. He is smart; Al could do anything in the world he wants. He is optimistic and supportive, no matter how idiotic your plan sounds…" The way that he said that, it was as if he was speaking from memory. Edward's golden eyes were dark, sad.

Aiame was quick to change the subject. She knew that if she kept on topic, she would have to sympathize. Not that she did not feel bad for him, she did; she was just no good at sympathizing, no matter how much she cared. "Why did he leave for Xing?"

"Two reasons and I am not sure which one overrides the other," he explained. "One, he wanted to study alkahestry – which is the equivalent to alchemy but used for medical purposes. Two, there was a girl that wanted to teach it to him." Edward smiled brightly.

Aya glanced over her shoulder. Being stubborn was not going to do her any good. She scooped up her plate, placed it in the sink, and rushed into the hallway. The sound of her footsteps echoed through the house. She knew she was unneeded.

"That's…typical," Aiame decided. That was the best word she could come up with for it.

Ed nodded; a strand of his golden ponytail fell over his left eye. "It was what he wanted though; I wasn't going to fight him about it. He did show improvements in his studies the last time I was with him, so he is learning. Alphonse isn't the type to screw around like that. If he says he went to study, he is telling the truth."

"I never said he wasn't," she declared, raising her hands defensively.

They slightly descended into silence.

"Aiame, I have been thinking," Edward finally announced, "and if it is not to bold to ask, do you want to come to Central with me? It would be nice to have some company, if only for a little while. I will most likely be leaving for Xing again afterwards, you are then welcome to come along with me or return to Winry."

Aiame could not say that she had not been caught off guard. That offer was out of the blue. Plus, she had to admit that she barely knew him. "I guess… I mean, I don't know. Can I think about it? You said you weren't leaving for a few days, right?" she asked nervously. Aiame already knew that she wanted to say yes.

If you looked close enough, the slightest blush could be detected dusting Edward's cheeks. "Yeah," he muttered.

A high-pitched shriek echoed through the house, cutting Edward off. Aiame bolted to her feet. She ran upstairs, soon followed by Ed and Winry minutes later. When the trio arrived at the guest bedroom at the end of the hall, they found the door open and Aya desperately trying to tie an old t-shirt around her right shoulder. Her face was horror stricken and her fingers were fumbling helplessly with the fabric. Crimson liquid was soaking through her sleeve and dripping onto the wood floor. Aiame was frozen; she did not know how to deal with that!

Thankfully, Winry was perfectly fine under pressure. "How did that happen?" she asked swiftly, stepping inside. The blond mechanic grabbed the shirt from Aya's hand and threw it onto the small puddles of blood on the floor, soaking up what had not already dried. She rolled up the short sleeve that covered Aya's automail port to examine it more closely. "You overthrew it, didn't you?"

Aya nodded. "_It started shaking again and it gave out while I was trying to give up!_" She gestured to her makeshift bed of several blankets and pillows on the ground beside Aiame's bed. Her suitcase lay open on one of her pillows, filled with the clothing items she had bothered to unpack in the first place.

Winry looked puzzled.

"She says it was shaking again and gave out on her," Aiame repeated in Amestrian.

"What does she mean by 'it gave out'?" Winry demanded. "That is top-notch automail created by the assistant of a top-notch mechanic! There is no way it would just 'give out'." She slid her hand across the seam of where the automail plating met Aya's scarred skin; her palm was slick with blood as she pulled it away. Clinging to the tip of her index finger were two black strings, about the length of a nail. "Her stitches have come undone."

"Fabulous," Aiame muttered.

"Just go get me some extra stitching from the workshop and I can fix it," the blond instructed, pulling out several more stitches. "It isn't that serious, not all of them have come undone. I can eve reattach the port without removing the automail, just hurry."

Aiame quickly ducked out of the room. She ran as fast as she could down the stairs without tripping and down the hall into the automail workshop. It took her a moment to search through all of the cupboards and extra shelves in the closet until she finally found a roll of what she assumed to be string used for stitches. She darted back upstairs, finding Aya cross-legged on the floor and Winry on her knees beside her. Edward leaned against the doorframe, appearing lost. Aiame tossed the roll of stitching to Winry. She stepped out of the room.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked, closing the bedroom door behind him as he stepped into the hallway.

She shook her head. "You see what I've gotten myself into?"

"Aya is fine, trust me. That has happened to me plenty of times."

Aiame could not argue. In fact, she did not think she could anyways. She did not want to fight with Edward. "That's why I can't go with you to Central," she told him. "I've got to stay here and worry about when her automail is going to start falling apart."

Ed raised an eyebrow. She was more worried about the automail than her friend? There was such a simple solution to her problems; Aiame was just forcing herself to think it was so much worse than her situation actually was. He would talk to her about it, but he did not feel she needed to hear his whole sob-story. "She can always come with us," he suggested. "I see no reason for her not to. This way, if anything goes wrong, you won't have to go back to Aerugo to help her. It is a win-win."

He made it seem so simple. "I can ask…" she trailed off.

Edward smiled. Aiame, again, nearly melted down into her shoes.

xXx

A dark blanket had covered the sky of Risembool as night fell. After Winry fixed the stitches in Aya's automail, the day grew less hectic. Nothing exciting had occurred and everyone in the Rockbell house was calm. Eventually, the blond mechanic retired to her bedroom. Edward showed no signs of drowsiness, but was soon to follow Winry upstairs. It turned into an unsaid competition between Aya and Aiame to see who could stay awake the longest. The girl equipped with the automail arm was curled up in the corner of the living room couch, her nose buried in an old engineering book that was on one of Winry's shelves. The mechanic-in-training was sitting in an arm chair, doodling in her notebook that she had left untouched for nearly a month.

Aiame glanced up at Aya. She saw that her eyes were strained, giving her a distant look. "_Looks like someone is having fun_," she remarked.

Aya groaned. "_Yeah, fun's the word_," she mumbled.

"_Why are you reading a book about automail_?" Aiame asked, tucking her pencil inside the page she was drawing on and closed the notebook.

"_Because there wasn't anything else interesting_," Aya replied.

"_You look like you're giving yourself a headache_."

She rolled her eyes. "_I am_."

"_Then stop reading_."

"_But I want to know what you and Winry are talking about all the time_," she told Aiame.

"_You won't have to worry about that much longer_," Aiame said.

Aya raised her eyebrows, looking up at her. "_What do you mean by that_?"

"_Edward asked me to go to Central, Amestris' capitol, with him and invited you to go too_."

"_That's so cool_!" Aya exclaimed, setting her book aside. She did not bother to mark her page.

To be honest, Aiame did not think that she would want to tag along. She supposed that it would be better that she did want to go without any unnecessary convincing. "_So…you want to come with us_?"

"_No, dipshit; I am going to go stay here with Winry. YES! I am going to go with you_," Aya spat. "_Besides, someone is going need to give you and Edward a little push._"

Aiame's face fell blank. "_Yeah, that's totally why I wanted you to come with us._"

**END OF PART ONE!****There you have it, folks. We actually have a plot starting now. This chapter was not much compared to the previous one but I really wanted to get it done. I have been working with the same characters for quite some time now and want to introduce some new ones. Until next time, au revoir!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**Where Aya finds a way to communicate, Aiame gets scared to death by Armstrong and his sparkles, and Edward is greeted by the awesome Roy Mustang.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Once the trio arrived in Central three days after the incident with Aya's stitches, Aiame realized why she was so comfortable while she stayed in Risembool. The air was clear and fresh, the landscape consisted of green hills and grassy plains, and it was a small town – just like Caen in Aerugo. She felt at home there. Central was different; the air was thick and dirty, the ground was flat and paved with asphalt streets, and there was barely any room between the skyscrapers. It was foreign to her, even more so than her first months in Amestris. For the first time, Aiame began to feel homesick.

Edward had arranged for them to stay in an apartment only three blocks from the Central Command Center – where he would be doing work for the Fuhrer. Inside, there was only a small kitchen that connected to a living room and one bedroom. Ed had opted to sleep on the couch since there were only two beds. Their first night in Central turned out to be relatively calm considering that they checked into the room at midnight.

The next morning, Edward rose early. Since he was not staying in the bedroom, he felt he had free reign to do what he wanted until the girls woke up. His stomach growled at him and he walked into the kitchen. The cupboards, like in any other hotel, had not been stocked with food for him, so Ed grabbed the room service menu off of the wall. He called in an order of coffee cake, scrambled eggs, and orange juice.

"_Can you ask for strawberry breakfast crepes too, please_?" Aya mumbled. She was slouched over as she walked across the open hallway to the dining table, rubbing her green eyes. Edward looked up at her, blinking. She forgot that he could not understand her. "Me too…please." Her tongue fumbled over the words, they sounded unnatural.

"Make that two," Edward said into the receiver. With that, he hung up the phone and moved to sit down at the table and wait with Aya. "How come you are awake so early?" He really hoped that he could at least try to understand him, sitting there without any conversation would be boring.

"Automail hurt," she told him. The first word was the same in both Aerugian and Amestrian, which was easy for both of them to pick up on. It had taken Aya a while to come up with the second word, but it was similar in both languages. Edward nodded, his eyes looked apologetic. It was better and easier for both of them to talk with facial expressions than trying to translate what they were saying.

Ed smiled, quick to change the topic. "You know you have gotten good at picking up on what we are saying," he admitted. Aya cocked her head to the side, showing that she had gone back to knowing nothing of what he said.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. Aya's hands jittered as she searched around the room. When she did not see what she was searching for, she used her left hand as a pad of paper and used her automail index finger as a mock pen. Edward got the message; she was trying to say that she could write. She leapt up from the table, quietly snuck into the bedroom, grabbed Aiame's notebook and pen, and returned to the kitchen table. **I can write**_**,**_she scrawled out on the paper, handing the pen to Edward.

**How much?** He asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. **Little, but it will work.**

Ed tapped the end of the pen against the paper for a moment, thinking of what to write. **Where did you learn to write?**__Was finally printed under her handwriting.

**Mom works for a political office. Thought it might come in handy to be able to start reading another language so she taught me herself.**

Edward nodded, taking the pen from her. **That's nice.**

**Yes.**

There was a knock on the apartment door. Edward rose to get it. He returned carrying a tray of food, two plates filled with a delicious-smelling breakfast. He set one plate in front of Aya and the other at his place and sat down again.

**Is there some reason why you did not order milk? Is it not custom in Amestris?**

Edward's face fell flat. **I don't like milk.** He knew what she was going to write next, so he snatched the writing utensil before Aya could use it. Ed unrolled the silverware from his napkin and began digging into the scrambled eggs on the far side of his plate. Aya copied him, but began with the coffee cake. She had never seen eggs prepared like that before and was a bit nervous to start shoveling them into her mouth like Edward was doing. **If you can write, how come you can't speak?**

**Don't know how to say the words. I only know their Aerugian equivalent. **

Another set of footsteps padded against the wooden floor. Aya turned to look over her shoulder. Aiame sleepily sat down beside her friend, brushing against her prosthetic limb. She jolted at the touch of the cool metal, but tried to keep her reaction as subtle as possible. Freaking Aya out was the last thing Aiame wanted to do at a time like this. She did not think that either of them was very used to Aya's new arm yet.

"_Nothing for me_?" Aiame teased.

Aya rolled her eyes but said nothing. The redhead could not tell if she was joking around or not.

"I am going to have to go to Central Command this afternoon," Edward began. "I didn't know if you wanted to come with me or not, but I thought I should ask. It will be pretty boring so I can understand if you and Aya would rather stay here or do something else." He swallowed down half of his orange juice in one gulp.

"Of course we want to go with you!" Aiame exclaimed. "Well, I do but I can't exactly speak for Aya – in that sense. I'm sure she wouldn't mind, though. What does this Fuhrer guy want from you anyways?"

Ed shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure. I resigned from the military last year so he can't request that I do anything for him. Guess we will find out soon enough…"

xXx

It was a three block trip to Central Command; it should not be that hard to behave for a fifteen minute walk. Edward was dead wrong with that assumption. If Aiame was not skipping down the sidewalk, she was peering in every shop window that they passed or swinging around lampposts because she was so far ahead of her companions. It was strange to see someone his own age act so immature! Even that idiot prince, Ling, had never been as bad as Aiame was being now. When they passed a woman pushing a baby-stroller, Edward acted as if he did not know the redheaded young woman dancing down the street ahead of him – as bad as he felt about it later.

Edward found that Aya was not nearly as bad as her friend; if anything, she was mature for her age. The pair walked side-by-side the entire way to Central Command, almost the whole trip was spent in silence. He also made a mental note of Aya making such a better first impression on him; when they stood next to each other, she remarked how Ed was really tall – when they stood back to back, Edward was nearly a whole head taller. The only instance when Aya caused any problems was when they passed a blond man in an Amestris military uniform smoking outside. She began mock-coughing and acted like she was having a fit.

"I apologize for, well, her," Aiame told him. "She hates when people smoke, especially around her."

Edward thought it was strange that _she _was the one apologizing for someone else's actions. "Is there some reason for that?" he asked.

"Not that I know of," she replied. "I mean, it is gross and all, but Aya has hated it ever since I met her. There was really no need for us to talk about it."

He looked over at Aya. "Strange. But at least she wasn't the one skipping down the sidewalk."

"Hey!"

They arrived at the Command Center roughly fifteen minutes before Edward was supposed to meet in the Fuhrer's office. He decided that they had time to kill; really he just did not want to spend any more time with Mustang than he needed to. There was nothing they could do besides sit in the front lobby unless Edward changed his mind and gave the okay to visit the Fuhrer.

"EDWARD ELRIC!" a deep, masculine male's voice boomed. The hairs on the back of Aiame's neck stood straight and Aya cowered in her chair. Edward groaned and shaded half of his face with his right hand. "IS THAT YOU? MY BOY, IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG!" Just then, an insanely brawny soldier in uniform with a tiny blond curl springing off of his forehead and bright blue eyes approached the trio. As Aiame stared at the freak of nature longer, she could have sworn she saw pink sparkles hovering in the air around him.

"Hello again, Major," Ed said. His voice did not show his emotions, Aiame could not tell if he was happy to see this man of if he was blatantly annoyed.

The major shook his head. "The art of moving up the military ranks has been passed down through my family for generations!" he announced. Both of the girls leaned in closer a bit but could not see his mouth move, just his mustache. "I am now a colonel!"

"That's great." Edward turned to Aiame, gesturing to the colonel. "Aiame, this is _Colonel _Armstrong. He was a friend of mine while I was working under Mustang." The redhead assumed that she was supposed to know what he was talking about, maybe he was putting on a show for the colonel, but Edward did not talk about his past with her so she was a tad confused. "Armstrong, this is Aiame Kuroshi. She is a friend from Risembool."

Aya was too busy trying to stay unnoticed by the colonel to care that Edward had not mentioned her.

"How very nice to meet you, Miss Aiame Kuroshi!" Armstrong's voice echoed off of the tile flooring. The secretaries and other officers in the lobby all turned at the same time to look at the giant. It was really all-out or nothing with this guy wasn't it? "Say, Edward, what are you doing back in Central? Mustang informed me that you resigned several years ago after Alphonse regained his body."

Edward shushed him. "Yes," he whispered. "I did. But I would appreciate it if you would not bring up any more than you already have, thanks." He pretended to gaze down at a watch on his wrist. "Oh, well gee, look at the time. We have to go see Mustang now. Goodbye, Colonel!" He yanked on Aiame's hand and pulled her halfway down the hallway to the left of them, Aya was close on their heels.

The hallways of Central Command were simple. The whole building was in a square, so there were no twisting hallways or dead ends of places that just got two confusing to navigate. Edward led Aiame and Aya up a flight of stairs to the second floor, down a corridor to the right and then a turn to the left. Eventually, they reached the very back center of the building. Large double doors led to what they assumed to be the leader of Amestris's office. Edward flung the door open and proceeded to march inside like he owned the place.

A raven-haired man with pale skin sat behind a mahogany desk in the middle of the room. He leaned against his desk on his elbows, his gloved hands folded together. The man was also dressed in the blue military uniform. Aiame blinked, there had to be something wrong going on here. The man did not even seem to notice they had entered his office; his dark eyes were unfocussed.

"I'm glad that you decided to show up on time today, Fullmetal," Fuhrer Mustang said.

**Twice in one day, I am on a roll! This was rather fun and easy to write, considering that I got it done in a matter of hours. Also, Armstrong becoming a colonel was sort of a pathetic joke of mine; when I first started the anime, I always got his and Mustang's titles mixed up. And I really hope that y'all are as excited as I am that Roy is back!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**Where Aiame goes through an uncomfortable interrogation and Ed second-guesses himself.**

There was nothing they could do to help it; Aya and Aiame were kicked out of the Fuhrer's office before anything interesting had been said. They were told to wait in the hallway until Edward was done with his meeting with Roy. Aya was reduced to pacing down the hallway while Aiame was leaning against the wooden door, trying to hear what was going on inside. She could not hear a word of what they were saying, though she still strained herself trying. The two men had been talking for over an hour before Aiame just grew fed up of all of waiting. She wanted to march into the office and just start complaining about how long they were taking so long.

After another minute, the door cracked open. Edward stepped out, his eyes dark and his lips set in a firm line. He turned to Aiame. "He says he wants to talk with you," he muttered, "and Aya too." Ed glanced over at the girl pacing.

"What good is that going to do?" Aiame countered. "One, I'm not a citizen here so I shouldn't matter to him. Two, I don't want to be stuck translating every time he talks to her."

"If it's that big of a deal, I will go in with her afterwards and translate so you won't have to," Edward suggested, pushing her towards the door.

She shot him a final glare before stepping inside. Fuhrer Mustang had not seemed to have changed positions in the whole time he had been talking with Edward, he remained behind his desk with his hands folded in front of his mouth. His inky hair fell over his dark eyes, his clouded dark eyes. "Aiame Kuroshi?" he asked.

"Yes." He may have asked a question of her but she answered as a simple statement, a firm answer that showed confidence even though she was internally shaking.

"You are the one who is going to be accompanying Edward on his trip?"

_What did Edward tell him? _She wondered. "Yes," she repeated, deciding that it was best to follow whatever Ed had told him.

"What, do you suppose, made him invite you here with him? Tell me about that," Fuhrer Mustang requested.

Aiame gulped; she could feel her cheeks beginning to burn. She knew she must look as red as a tomato to him. "I was training with his childhood friend in Risembool to become an automail mechanic and we kind of, well, clicked when he showed up for a repair," she exclaimed. "We started hanging out and after he returned from Xing, he asked me out of the blue to come here with him." That was keeping it simple for him.

The Fuhrer nodded slowly. "You trained in Risembool? Why there? What made you decide to become an engineer?" he asked.

"I'm Aerugian and we don't have automail or any sort of advanced prosthetics in my country. I've always been interested in working with my hands so when I heard about it, I thought it would be a good occupation." She fidgeted, shifting her weight back and forth on each foot.

"Aerugo?" he echoed.

"Yes, Aerugo."

The Fuhrer sat still as stone for a long moment. His gaze was locked on her; over a period of three minutes, he only blinked once. Aiame found that unnerving and strange. It took her a minute to figure it out, once she put her mind to it, but she finally realized that Roy Mustang was blind. That is why he acted so oddly. "Aerugo does not have much knowledge of alchemy. So, then tell me, how do you expect to help Edward on his mission if you don't even know what the science is?"

"Edward is going to teach me," Aiame said.

The corner of his mouth turned upwards into a devious smirk. "That is exactly what he told me."

"With all due respect, were you trying to say that Edward was lying to you?"

"It would not be the first time."

"I see."

His smirk began to face. "Is Aya here with you?" Mustang asked.

"No."

"You didn't want her to be?"

"Interrogating her wouldn't do much," she told him firmly. "She doesn't speak Amestrian."

He released a deep sigh, nodding his head. "It will be rather difficult for her to accompany you as well then, I presume."

_She is not going to_, Aiame thought,_ her automail is still healing. Whatever Edward told him, she is _not _coming with us._ "Sure," she trailed off. "May I be excused?" She felt as though she was negotiating a death sentence with him. It was so awkward.

"Of course."

Aiame could not have slammed the door behind her soon enough. She sighed and the blood slowly began to drain from her cheeks. Both Edward and Aya were staring at her with concern glazing their eyes. Aiame shook her head vigorously, her hair hiding most of her face. Everything about her interrogation was terrible; her heart was still beating up a thunder storm in her chest.

"_What happened in there_?" Aya demanded.

Aiame shrugged. "_An interrogation_," she replied. "What did you tell him, Edward? He said that I was going with you – whatever the hell that is supposed to mean."

"He assigned me a new mission. I can explain it to you once we get back to the apartment. Now let's get out of here; I don't want to have to spend any more time near Mustang than I have to," Edward cut in. "I already have to be back at ten tomorrow morning."

xXx

Needless to say, once the three arrived back at their apartment, no one was in a very pleasant mood. Edward was still pissed off about having to meet with the Fuhrer, Aiame was trying to get him to explain what he was needed for in Central in the first place, and Aya was completely lost because no one would write anything down for her or translate what they were talking about. Edward and Aiame sat across from each other at the kitchen table and were talking about their meetings with Fuhrer Mustang. Aya was sitting on the couch, waiting for someone to pull her back into the conversation.

"First of all, before you start overwhelming me with all of the details, tell me what the heck alchemy is," Aiame demanded.

Edward rolled his eyes; he kept forgetting that not everyone could keep up with his scientific talk. "Alchemy is the science of breaking down and reconstructing matter as something different. It follows the law of Equivalent Exchange that says all trade must be equal," he explained. "Now, I highly doubt that you are going to study it so I will not bore you with the details." He nodded firmly.

"Okay. Then what is this oh-so-important mission that you have been assigned and I am supposedly going with you on?"

"You are not going with me. I invited you to Central, not on the task Mustang was sure to assign me. I told him that you were to save my ass. If he knew I brought you here as just a friend and not some kind of assistant, he would have a fit. Especially since I let you tag along to Central Command."

"Why can't I go? Am I that much trouble, Edward?" Aiame raised her eyebrows.

He groaned. "No, you are not that much trouble. But it would be a hassle to explain all of the details that you don't want to hear and get you to understand why I have to do this."

"Some kind of top-secret military assignment?" she asked.

"Yes, it is," Ed spat. "I am not allowed to tell you unless you are definitely coming with me. Which I don't want to do since it would risk putting you in danger."

"I can take care of myself, I'm a big girl."

"A big girl who skips down sidewalks and can't take 'no' for an answer?" he shot back at her.

"Yes, exactly." With that, Aiame pushed back in her chair and stomped off down the hallway towards her room.

Aya looked at the locked bedroom door, shaking her head. She tip-toed across the wood floor and stole Aiame's seat. The notebook and pen had been left on the center of the table; she grabbed it and began scrawling out barely-legible words. She lifted it up for him to read. **What was all of that about? What did you say to her?**

Edward slowly took the pen away from her, buying time to think of what to say to her. **I was telling her about alchemy.**

**She would not freak out over that. What else did you say?**

**I told her that she could not come with me on my next mission. It would be too dangerous.**

Aya glared at him blankly. **Why would you tell her anything that would get her hopes up? What do you even have to do?**

Edward scribbled on the paper angrily. **I have to travel across the desert to Xing to look for any remaining Philosopher's Stones. I don't expect you to know what that is, or even what alchemy is, but either way it would be dangerous.**

She shot him another nasty look. **I know what both of those things are, I just didn't think they were real. They are popular topics for novels in Aerugo. But why can't we go?**

He sighed. **I don't want anyone to get hurt. You can go back to Risembool.**

**Yeah. That isn't going to happen.** She snatched the notebook away from him before Ed had the chance to write anything back. Aya grinned at him and sat back on the couch.

Edward sat back in his chair, groaning. Staying with two girls was way too much stress. He wondered what overcame him when he asked her to come with him to Central; it was idiotic, especially since he had to deal with Mustang while he was here also. At least Aya had some sense; she was smart and did not require having everything explained to her. There was just something about Aiame that he could not explain. It was like the feeling when he was forced through the Gate, his insides felt twisted and uncomfortable. Well, okay, it was not really like that at all. But the Gate was the only thing that could the feeling could compare to on a reasonable scale.

He groaned, thinking about how he would have to go back and visit Roy again tomorrow morning. The man wanted him to go on the hunt for more Philosopher's Stones, it was ridiculous! Let alone, he just returned home from Xing – the place where Mustang said two of the Stones were. He knew that this was supposed to be secret; the government was sealing off and burning any information left about the Stones. It was all going to be for the best. Ed also knew that he would not have Al to help him this time; he would be facing the madness of the search all over again by himself. Maybe he should have asked the girls to go with him; they might be trouble, but it would be better than loneliness.

Ed did not know what to do. Should he tell Aiame to leave and just go on by himself? Or should he ask them to go with him to Xing?

He groaned, telling himself that the smarter decision would always be to just go by himself. That way, he would not have to watch out for more lives that should not be risked in the first place.

**I wrote this chapter in one day so I apologize for its length and, well, suckiness. Thanks to all who put up with me when I can't think of what to write for this story!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

**Where Aya opens her big mouth and Aiame ditches the apartment.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist**

Edward Elric was an early riser. He was awake and wandering around the apartment hours before either of the girls were out of their bedroom. He ordered enough breakfast for all three of them from room service, and downed the entire meal by himself in less than fifteen minutes. After he finished, Ed locked himself in the bathroom to get dressed; it was amazing how he could have sworn he was still brushing desert sand out of his hair before he tied it into a ponytail. He smirked to himself in the mirror, knowing that in just a few days, his silky hair would be caked with sand again after arriving in Xing. His mission, once he got past the desert, would not be that terrible; he could see Alphonse and Ling and not be bothered by Mustang ever again. In fact, he would never even have to hear that bastard's name again!

"Edowado?" Aya whispered, tip-toeing across the wood floor. She peered over the couch, only to find a mess of unkempt blanket and pillows that had molded to the side of Edward's head. "Edo?" She moved into the kitchen, as soon as she saw the dirty dishes beside the sink, she began to wonder if he had already left for the Command Center. She threw the blankets onto the floor and sank into the cushions.

The eighteen-year-old man stumbled out of the bathroom upon hearing his name. It was strange for him to hear Aya trying to speak Amestrian, there was just so much that was wrong about how it sounded. "Good morning," Ed greeted her. He moved around the back of the L-shaped couch to sit on the end beside her.

She smiled brightly at him, the pen and notebook ready in her lap. Ed leaned over; trying to read what was written on the paper. Her words seemed to be filtered, there would a word missing here or half of the sentence would be in Aerugian, so it was fairly hard for Edward to concentrate on what he could understand. Eventually, he gathered that she had written down an entire conversation between Aiame and her after he crashed last night. The redhead made it very clear that she was mad beyond belief with him. Ed decided that the things written in Aerugian were the things that both he and Aya did not want him to read.

**That's what you wanted to tell me?** He wrote at the top corner of the paper, thoroughly confused. He already knew that Aiame was mad at him; he did not need to hear it again from her. The worst of it was, there was nothing more to read into what had been said – everything that Aiame was thinking had been said and everything she said, she meant.

Aya shook her head. She took the pen away from him; but instead of writing a reply, she circled two lines of the paper. The first was something she had said: **I know you won't be able to keep this up. You'll only be mad for about a day more. You were the one who stayed up half the night in Caen talking about how great he is to be around. **She looked at Edward, her eyebrows raised. It was as if she was trying to tell him 'you are an idiot if you don't get what that means' just by the look on her face. The second thing she had circled was several lines below the previous statement, said by Aiame: **You don't need to keep bringing it up. I like him, yes. A lot, yes. But this is getting ridiculous.**

It may have taken another moment after thinking about it, but Edward finally got the message. He knew he had always been a bit thick-headed when it came to girly stuff like that – even if girly was not the exact word he was looking for – but not catching those things the first time around was just unbelievable. Ed took the pen away from her. **Why did you want me to know this?**

**I don't think it would be fair for you to not know if you are going to make us go back home**, she scribbled along the margin. Aya smiled at him again. **I guess I would be okay if you forced me to leave but Aiame would be just a tiny bit hear-broken. You don't want that do you?**

Edward groaned, ducking his head. He knew that she was not trying to make him feel uncomfortable, but was succeeding in it anyways. He hid his face to hide the faint blush dusting his cheeks. **You should not be telling me this, you know.**

Aya shrugged. **It isn't going to do her any good to keep it bottled up. **With that, she scooped up the pen and paper and held it against her chest. She did not know if she had been overcome by wanting to embarrass Aiame by telling him this or because she thought they needed a push in the right direction, but knew it would be best if she cut off her conversation with Edward there. Now, the last thing to do was hide from Aiame everything she told Edward.

Ed checked the clock over his shoulder, it was nearly ten o'clock. He smirked to himself; he was going to be late for his first meeting with Mustang in over two years. Did he want the old bastard to think that he was still an immature kid who did not take things seriously or did he want to make a good impression and rub it in his face? He was already dressed and ready, he supposed that he should show up early for his meeting. It could not be as bad as he expected it to, right? "I've got to get going," he announced, rising from the couch. Ed swung a red jacket over his shoulders as he walked out the door.

"_What was all of that about_?" Aiame asked, her voice muffled by her hand over her mouth to catch her yawn. She took Edward's spot on the couch beside Aya.

"_I'm not sure_," Aya lied. "_I'm hungry. What do you want from room service_?"

"_Didn't Edward order you breakfast today_?" she sneered, folding her arms over her chest.

The younger of the two glared at the redhead. "_Why do you say it like that_?"

"_I just thought, you know, since you are buddy-buddy with him now…_"

"_Oh, shut up, Aiame._ _Edward and I are strictly friends, nothing more. And besides, you should be thanking me for everything that I've told him_."

"_What did you tell him?_" she snapped.

Aya sighed, "_Nothing, nothing_." She knew that the lies would never last.

"_Anyways, what are we going to do today? Edward is gone and I have a pocket full of Amestrian cens with nothing to do with them. Should we go exploring in Central_?" Aiame asked, grinning like an idiot.

"_What is there to do in Central_?" she demanded. Aya saw Central as a boring capitol with nothing to do. There was a bunch things to do if you were in the military or an alchemist or both, but nothing to do if you were simply traveling with one. Plus, anything interesting was restricted from the public. She could look out the window, able to see the entire city, and not be able to pick out a thing she would want to do. "_I don't want to do anything here. It's boring."_

"_Edward mentioned that Central has a public section in its library, we could always go there._"

Green eyes brightened. She was a nerd living in a sheltered country; there was not much to choose from when it came to reading. Aya saw this as an opportunity to learn something interesting, something they would not teach her back home. "_Let's go, let's go, let's go!_" she cheered, hopping to her feet. "_You know, you should be a little bit more excited!_"

xXx

Aiame tried to remember the path that Edward had taken to Central Command yesterday, it was the only means she had of finding the library. She spent a half hour simply going up and down main street, passing the same cafés and stuck-up-moms' clothing stores over and over again. Although she knew how fed up her friend was with her at this point, she was grateful that Aya was not saying anything to her. They both knew Aiame had gotten them lost. After another ten minutes of wandering a different avenue, she found the library sitting on the corner.

Once inside, Aiame found there were only about ten bookcases open to the public at the very end of the building. She laid her things out on an empty table, her pen and notebook along with the one automail book she had from Winry's, and hung her bag over the arm of the chair. Without any sort of warning, she ran off towards the books. It took her a total of a mere ten minutes to scan all ten bookcases. While Aya had already picked out a beginner's guide to alchemy, Aiame returned to their table with a stack of seven anatomy books in her hands. It was unbelievable to her that there were so many books on this small topic; she had only taken a fraction of the books off the shelves. Her nose was buried into the pages and her eyes were darted from word to word. Thank god she was a fast reader, but even then Aiame could not seem to get the information in fast enough.

Aya was watching her with a mix of horror and utter shock expressed on her face.

There was so much that Aiame had gotten wrong, she could not believe it! In the beginning, she told herself to except the fact that since she was just starting to learn the mechanics and engineering of automail, she would make mistakes. These books not only pointed out that, but things that she had been doing wrong all along that Winry told her she had no need to work on. Then she reached the section specially written for the automail mechanics, not just anybody. She read that the most common mistake most make was to make the outer plating heavier than the automail itself; this would throw off the movement of the arm itself and, if heavy enough, would shift the port that connects the nervous system. Aiame had not even paid attention to that!

"_Can you do me a favor_?" Aiame requested. Aya raised her eyebrows. "_Walk down to the window and back._"

Despite the many things she could say to make Aiame regret saying it like that, Aya rose from her seat and walked towards the windows across from their table and back. "_What was that for_?" she asked.

"_I think I need to redesign your automail, I screwed up and don't want you to have to go through surgery for a new port,_" she explained, grabbing her notebook. "_I didn't pay attention to the weight of the plating and I think it is too heavy for you. I need to design you a new one._" Aiame began flipping page-by-page for a fresh sheet of paper.

"_No! I like my arm!_" Aya protested, her flesh hand gripping her metal shoulder.

"_Too bad!_" Aiame shot back harshly. She came across a page crowded with Aya's sloppy Amestris-handwriting. After scanning the first several lines, she recognized it as a written document of their argument about Edward last night. She saw that there were circles around the lines that clearly stated that she had a crush on Edward and a whole different conversation written along the margins. It alternated between Aya's and Edward's. Aya told Ed that she liked him! "_What the hell is this?_" she demanded.

Aya's cheeks flared bright red. "_I just thought, well, since he is probably going to send us back to Risembool that he had a right to know, you know_?"

"_No, I do not know! That does not make any sense!_" she roared. "_I am not going to be able to face him now, you get that? If there was any chance of going with him to Xing, it is gone now because of this!_"

"_I'm sorry._"

"_No, you aren't…_" Aiame paused. "_What did he say about it_?"

"_He said that I shouldn't have told him because you would be mad at me._"

"_That's all_?"

Aya shrugged. "_Then he left for the Fuhrer's office_."

"_Well, damn._"

Firm hands pressed against Aiame's back, shoving her over into the pile of books on the table in front of her. Aiame glared over her shoulder, her hazel eyes soon met Ed's pair of golden orbs. Two words passed through her mind: holy shit. "Do people in Aerugo just wander off whenever they want?" he demanded. "Do you think it is okay for you to ditch the apartment and explore a foreign city without telling me where you went?"

"For god's sake, Edward, what are you? My father?" Aiame shot at him. "You cannot expect me to stay cooped up inside all day while you go out without us."

"This is such a great way to convince me you can be responsible enough to come to Xing with me," he retorted.

Her eyes sharpened. "What was that about my responsibility?"

"Nothing. Let's just get going, okay? We can talk about it when we get back to the apartment."

Internally, Aiame was beaming and giggling like a schoolgirl. "Fine, we can talk about it then," she decided, smirking.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

**Where Aiame and Edward have a heart-to-heart (in their own way) and Aya decides that she is more trouble than she is worth.**

"Edward, can you please sit down and talk about this like an adult?" Aiame demanded. The golden haired man was pacing in front of her, his eyes unfocused. The teenage girl crossed her legs and leaned back on the couch cushions, sighing. He was being difficult about the whole situation. Was it really that terrible that she did not want to stay confined to a simple apartment while he went out and had fun? Aiame thought not.

"No!" he snapped. Edward pushed his bangs out of his eyes and pressed his hand to his forehead. "Would it have been so hard to just call me so I wouldn't have a heart attack?"

"Did you leave a number for me to call in the first place?" she countered. "Ed, listen to us – we sound like an old married couple. Can we both settle with the fact that we were both ridiculous and get over it with a couple of apologies?"

He shrugged. "Did Aya tell you to say that? Because it doesn't really sound like something that you would say," he chuckled.

"She said it used to work when she fought with people back home," Aiame admitted. "It worked, no?"

Edward had to say, it did lighten his mood. That was no excuse for why they would have left in the first place. He wanted to confront her about it, but knew that it would be too awkward to force himself to look at her after what Aya had told him earlier this morning. Aiame was more work than he was cut out for. "Just...tell me that you're never going to do it again and everything will be settled," he said.

She rolled her eyes, groaning, "Sure. I promise that I will never run off again." It seemed strange for him to ask her something like that; he was acting so protective of her for no good reason. She had never asked him to watch out for her, she could do that herself. Although strange, she could not say that she did not like it. Having Edward care like that was about as good as it was ever going to get, she decided.

"So, um… you know what Aya told me this morning?" Ed asked. He stopped pacing and stood with his back towards her, his eyes locked on the horizon outside the window.

Aiame ducked her head. "Yeah, I know." _Why doesn't he just shoot me now?_ She felt that was dying inside, her heart was going to explode of anxiety unless he got to his point. Ed was going to beat around the bush for a while, she knew that, but she wished that he would not. Her face was burning of the blood rushing to her face.

"Are you mad at her for it?"

"A little."

He nodded. "Yeah, I thought you would be."

"Can we just talk about going to Xing or something?" she asked, desperate to change the subject. "I want to go with you and so does Aya. It wouldn't be fair if you left without us. You wouldn't want to be rude, would you?" Aiame raised her eyebrows.

"No, I don't want to be rude. But I don't want you to completely ignore what we were talking about before!"

"I don't want to," she protested, "It's awkward." She might as well be proud of herself for that; she was being honest with him.

"I just wanted to know," he told her, turning to look over his shoulder. Striking golden sunlight illuminated his silhouette, gleaming off of his eyes. Aiame could have sworn she felt all of her blood rush down to her heart. It was just so hard not like him, not to be mesmerized by him. It was the weirdest feeling, like a thousand butterflies scrambling inside her stomach. She wanted it to stop, so she could look at Edward without being heartbroken. She had not felt anything close to this, ever.

"Wanted to know what? That I am a silly little fangirl that can't stand the sight of you without feeling like you're the only other person in the world?" she asked fiercely, her tongue sharp. "You could just ask Aya all of that, I'm sure she would tell you – since you are buddy-buddy, after all."

"Aiame, you are being stupid. I would not sink so low as to try and get answers from someone else when I should be talking to you; I was raised better than that." Edward ran his fingers through his silky hair, several strands falling free of the band that tied them at the back of his head. Aiame was curious as to what he looked like with his hair down; she had never seen him like that before. "I want to talk to you about it." He sat down beside her.

The redhead gulped. "What else is there to talk about, really?" she shot at him. "I'm going to design Aya her new arm."

Ed gripped her arm as she rose from her seat, yanking her back down next to him. "I want you to come with me to Xing. You are going to help me find the remaining Philosopher's Stones. I need you to help me."

"You don't need a thing from me, Edward," she sighed, hiding her face in her hands. "The only thing I can do is build automail and get people's arms ripped off." Aiame felt so helpless, so empty inside. Even the butterflies storming in her gut had died off, leaving her hollow. She felt she should be crying but just could not bring herself to tears. Besides, it would be wrong with Edward beside her.

He groaned, not wanting to deal with a depressed mechanic. "You can do more, I know it." His left arm snaked around her shoulders.

"Thanks. Of course, it doesn't change my mind, but thank you. When do we leave for Xing?" she asked, brushing away his arm.

"I have to meet with the Fuhrer one more time tomorrow morning. We can start packing tonight and leave after we have lunch tomorrow," he explained. Ed retracted his arm and stretched; Aiame could not help but notice his flexed muscles. She drew in a deep breath and watched him march off into the kitchen. After he disappeared, she leapt from the couch and dashed into the bedroom. She pulled the door open; Aya stumbled out onto her knees on the floor. Aiame jumped back.

"_Where you listening to us?_" she demanded.

Aya brushed herself off as she got to her feet. "_No…I was just leaning against the door_," she lied casually. "_Did you really convince him to let us go with him to Xing?_"

"_Of course I did_!" she exclaimed.

Packing that night was relatively easy considering that none of them had really unpacked anything. Aya decided that they should each keep one outfit in their rooms for tomorrow but otherwise, the suitcases were stacked by the doorway. Edward ordered two platters full of Aerugian food – a meal of mostly fish and vegetables – for the three of them once everything was taken care of. Aiame barely touched her food; she was too busy with designing a new prosthetic limb for her best friend. Aya, however, took one bite of the room service food and spit it back out onto the plate. Ed glanced up at her, his mouth stuffed with fish, and confusion glazing his eyes. It took a minute to convince Aiame to hand over the notebook, but Aya was eventually able to tell him that the meal did not even compare to the food back home. It did not compare to real Aerugian food.

"Edward Elric," Aiame said, not taking her hazel eyes off of the automail she was designing. She had moved on to the technical asset of it, the exact measurements and the exact proportions of alloys and normal metals. "Stop complaining about her eating habits. We know that she has a problem with the food; she isn't going scarf it down just because you think it's good. It's amazing how your country can just screw up such a simple meal…"

Ed groaned. "I cannot help how my country cooks foreign food. Besides, this is how the people here like it prepared, I can't help that either," he mumbled, gulping down a final bite of fish. "You know, you really should be eating something. It will be at least a three week trip across the desert; we won't be getting the luxury of others making our food for us. It will be canned food if we are lucky for the next three weeks." He shrugged, picking at the remaining greens around the edge of his plate.

"Why do you insist on getting to Xing the hard way?" she asked. "I mean, we don't have to go through the desert. We can always go around it." Aiame knew the trip through the sands would be hot and uncomfortable, but she was more worried about their automail than anything else. Wouldn't it hurt if they were in the beating sun all day? Surely the metal that came in contact with their skin would leave burns.

"No, we can't go around it because that would take twice as long. Why does it really matter anyways?"

"I'm worried about your automail." She traced the outline of the arm she was designing will a dull pencil four times.

He sighed. She could not tell if he was annoyed with her or if he was thinking about that himself. "I've crossed the desert before, you're forgetting that. The heat doesn't have much effect on automail as long as you keep it out of direct sunlight." Ed had not considered their prosthetics to be a problem before and, knowing that Aiame was only in Amestris because of automail, she would be more worried about that than anything else.

"Alright…" Just because she believed him did not mean that she was still going to stress about it. All of the sand could not be good for the gears or the port and the sun would be brutal. On top of having to make Aya a brand new arm, it was just going to be trouble for her. "You know, you never told me what a Philosopher's Stone was."

"It's…something used for alchemical purposes." That was okay, Edward told himself, not a complete lie but it was not the whole truth. "When using it in a transmutation, it allows the alchemist to go beyond the law of Equivalent Exchange. So, it's a pretty big deal."

"Ah." She figured that Mustang wanted him to find it for some military purpose, to make Amestris' army ten times stronger or something idiotic like that and Edward was following the orders because he was forced. Aiame did not want to think of Ed like that, it did not seem like something he would do unless there was another reason behind it. She would ask, but it was unlikely that he was just spill everything to her. She would have to sit it out and wait for him to come around on his own.

"Mustang needs to find them to destroy them," he continued. Ed got the feeling that Aiame did not wholly believe him. "Two of our friends in Xing have them and another one is floating around the east side of the country."

So, she was wrong. Ed was not doing this to help his country. When he talked about it, about the Stones, he seemed almost afraid of them. No, wary was a better word. Either way, Aiame could rest easily knowing that he was not going out on a dangerous assignment because he wanted to, not because someone told him he had to. Even though he had scared the shit out of her, she did not think that the Fuhrer would do something like that for a selfish reason. He was wary too. "How do you have friends in Xing? Through Alphonse?"

"They came here to Amestris a few years ago and helped me out with another mission Mustang had assigned me on," Ed explained. "He is the emperor now."

"Can I just say that you always sound like you have the coolest life ever?"

xXx

Aiame wondered how Fuhrer Mustang could stand it, he had not changed positions behind his desk since the last time she saw him. Edward had insisted that everyone was present at their little meeting, mostly because he did not want the girls running off again but he did not want them to know that. He and the Fuhrer were the ones who mostly did the talking; it was not anything that Aiame had not already heard. She stood by the door, waiting for Ed to tell her it was over; the Command Center made her nervous. That cue, however, did not come any time soon. She wanted to move on to something more exciting, like Xing or even the sweaty desert. Anything sounded better to her than just standing around.

Aya was a different story. She stood beside Aiame, waiting as patiently as she could for Edward to finish talking. The Amestrian words were swimming around in her head, making her dizzy. If she had to listen to any more of it without Aiame translating, she would not be able to stand it. She thought, going into the meeting, that she wanted it to last as long as possible because she did not want to cross the desert. Now, she wanted to scream because her head was pounding. She looked up at Aiame, seeking some kind of confirmation that it would not be much longer, but saw nothing but monotony masking her face. Aya turned back to Edward and Mustang, hoping to see any sort of gestures that would tell her their conversation was over, but there weren't any. She held her face in her hands, trying to block out the sound around her. She would speak up for herself, but she did not want to interrupt them.

Maybe, Aya thought, Aiame was not talking to her because of what she told Edward. She did not see much wrong with that, she had the right to be angry but it was better that he knew. She hoped she had not messed everything up, she knew she already caused too much trouble as it was. Aya assumed this to be true because as soon as they left the Fuhrer's office, no one started talking again. Aiame did not offer to translate a conversation for her and Edward; in fact, she did not talk to her at all. She knew she screwed up big time, now she just had to think of a way to fix it for them. Maybe things would be going better if she was not there at all…


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

**When Aiame, Edward and Aya camp out in the desert, Ed actually accomplishes something in a conversation with Aiame and they are saved from the desert heat.**

**I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

It was killing Aiame that Edward would not tell her what he thought of Aya's little confession. The hours right after they left Central was silent, she could barely even look at the golden eyed man. She tried to talk to Aya – about automail, about the desert that they would reach soon, about anything – but received nothing but the cold shoulder from her friend. Aiame tried to help Edward move their suitcases into the hotel room they rented for the night before they reached the desert, but he insisted on doing everything himself, giving her no opportunities for conversation. She was on the outside looking in and hating every minute of it. She wanted to tell them that, to shout at them for being so purposely rude, but decided against it. Aiame knew it would do her no good.

Edward offered to sleep on the couch again that night, allowing Aiame and Aya the two beds, but the redhead refused. She told him that she would be up more than half the night putting the finishing touches on the new automail designs and that he should get some rest while he could. Really, she felt bad because he was breaking his back on cheap sofas so she and Aya could get a good night's sleep. Of course, both of them would not back down from their argument. Aiame perfected the new prosthetic design for Aya and Edward stayed out late buying food that would survive their trip across the desert to Xing. Eventually, Aiame crashed on the couch and Edward sitting at the kitchen table, leaving the single bed beside Aya's empty.

The next morning, the hauled all of their bags plus the food and other supplies Ed had bought down to the lobby of the hotel. He hailed a cab to the curb of the sidewalk and loaded all of the bags into the trunk before piling into the backseat with Aya and Aiame. The driver agreed to take them into the desert as far as the ruins of Xerxes, but that was it. According to Edward, that was a very good deal for a cab ride out of East City. Aiame then suggested that they play tic-tac-toe to ease their boredom on the seven-hour car ride. Her idea was shot down before she could finish her sentence. It was not even five minutes later when Aya stole the pen and paper away from her and proceeded to teach Edward how to play the dot-game. Their game barely lasted two minutes before Ed announced his victory. Aya still had no idea what he was saying and let his victory go easily.

The cab grew unbearably hot once they were surrounded by sand. The desert sun was beating down on the roof, radiating through the metal. Aiame kept a close eye on Aya, watching her to see if her automail was growing uncomfortable yet. Edward seemed to be handling the heat perfectly fine, but Aya was soon fidgeting and clawing at her automail port. She folded her arms over her chest, locking her shoulders in place as if that would keep it from irritating her.

They reached the ruins just as dusk was falling; the navy sky was speckled with bright stars. The cab driver was quick to take a handful of Edward's cens and high-tail it back to the city. Aiame was concerned how they were supposed to spend the night out there; they had nothing over their heads except the crumbling roofs of the old Xerxes buildings over their heads. Edward led them to an open square in the center of the ruins, complete with a paved street and nothing that could fall them. It was surprising how well prepared for this he was; he unpacked a synthetic tent and padded blanket for a makeshift floor. Aiame felt guilty that he was lugging around all of that supplies for them while she was only carrying one suitcase filled with her clothes and half of their food for the next three weeks, it did not seem fair.

Aiame sat cross-legged in the corner next to the oil lantern that cast soft shadows against the inside of the tent, drawing in her notebook. Edward had not done much since setting up their abode for the night; he had sprawled out on the floor by the entrance of tent, trying to get some rest. Aya had insisted that she take her automail out, just for the night, because the heat was bothering it. The redhead had a fit, exclaiming that it was a one-time deal and she would never allow it again. Aya, although unhappy that she was using that excuse on their very first night in the desert, took it gratefully and promised her that she was never ask for anything like that ever again. That way, she was able to get to sleep.

"Hey, Edward," Aiame said. The eighteen-year-old rolled over onto his shoulder to face her, she could clearly see the dark circles forming under his gorgeous eyes. "I was wondering, um, what you thought about what Aya told you yesterday. You never told me anything." She lowered her eyes back down to the comic strip she was sketching in her notebook, unwilling to look at him any longer.

He yawned. "I don't see why it is such a big deal," Ed confessed. "So, she screwed up and told me something that she shouldn't have. I'm glad that she did, though. I know why you are so…what's the word? Conservative around me?" He chuckled to himself, smirking. "No, you've never been like that. I now know why you have always acted different around me than Aya or Winry. At first I suspected that it was just because I'm a guy, but that did not seem like you at all. I think it's sweet you like me like that."

That's really all he thought of it? It was just sweet? And what about her outburst when he tried to ask about it yesterday? What about that? He must think she is a total jerk, she convinced herself that. "Well, thanks, I guess. I just wish that I hadn't even told her now. It is going to be awkward between us now, isn't it?" she asked.

"I don't want it to be," he replied. Edward could not say that he did not like that Aya told him; he thought it was better to know than to be kept in the dark. It did involve him, after all. "We can just pretend like it never happened until it needs to be brought to light again. How about that?"

Aiame could not decide if that was better or worse than the current situation. If neither of them had to acknowledge that embarrassing fact on a daily basis, it might be better for their relationship as friends. Once everything between them and their mission is settled, she could always try flirting a little bit and see where that gets her. "Sounds like a plan to me," she confirmed, twisting the knob on the lantern to dim the light illuminating the tent. "Does Alphonse know that you are going back to Xing?"

"No, but Mustang managed to get a message to Ling saying that I was on my way," Ed answered, "so surely he has told my brother by now." Edward was unsure of himself as to why he was so eager to get back to Xing. He knew that finding the Philosopher's Stones was an important task, but seeing Al overruled that.

She nodded thoughtfully. "Ling…" Aiame echoed.

"The emperor."

"Ah," she paused for a moment. "Oh great! Now I am going to have to learn another language!"

Ed smiled. "Not unless you really want to," he told her. "Ling and Lan Fan both know Amestrian; he also mentioned that most palace hands know our language too. I think you will be just fine. Besides, you should focus on teaching Aya Amestrian first so you won't have to translate everything she is saying."

She groaned. "Yeah, I know. But I'm no good at teaching. Anything. Period. If I teach her, she could try to ask how you were feeling and end up saying she has cheese in her pants," she laughed. "Besides, she is not going to live in Amestris forever. She can manage without knowing Amestrian. I will give her my notebook."

xXx

Edward tied the flaps that served at the doorway back and allowed the tent to be lit with bright sunlight and filled with blistering, dry heat. He dug around in his backpack for their breakfast, a granola bar for each of them, before sitting back down at the center of the tent. "That was going to be the very last night of luxury," he announced. "From now on, we are probably going to be sleeping up to our knees in sand."

"Well, that is just lovely," Aiame remarked. "From here, how much longer until we reach Xing?"

"I can't say. We are about halfway there at the moment. It should take us another week and a half, maybe more. I will be navigating by myself with nothing to go by except for a map that isn't very detailed," Ed explained. "If we happen upon any Xingese people, it will probably be cut down to a week."

Aiame supposed she could live with that. It did not seem too bad to live with. She translated everything Edward told her to Aya, who still had not reconnected her automail to its port. This brought Aiame's knew design back to her attention. She wondered how she was going to construct Aya a new arm before her current limb became too much to bear, especially if they were going to be in Xing for a long time where they had no knowledge of automail in the first place. That was just something she would have to continue worrying about that whenever they returned to Risembool. Hopefully, Aya could hang on for that long.

Edward packed up the tent about fifteen minutes later. Aiame not only agreed to carry her suitcase for the day, but also Ed's backpack with the food to cut him some slack. Aya had her messenger bag slung over her flesh shoulder and gripped the brass handle of the lantern in her left hand; sticking out one of the pockets on the front of her bag was her automail arm. Aiame had told her she did not have to reconnect it for the rest of the day if she tied up the port to keep sand from clogging it. The covered about twenty miles worth of sandy ground that day; Edward did not give them any time for breaks, he kept moving all day until they reached land solid enough to set up camp.

As the sun shrank behind the horizon, the sky grew dark and the air grew chilled. The trio unpacked their dinners of dried fruits, crescent rolls and water bottles and ate in silence. They fell asleep in silent, each one of them so tired and sore that they could not bear to keep their eyes open for another minute. Aiame fell asleep sitting up, her back pressed against the synthetic wall. Aya had tucked her arm in beside her before she had fallen asleep. Edward, however, fought against his drowsiness for as long as he could; trying to watch out for them.

The next day was virtually the same as the last. They trekked across the dunes with hats secured firmly to their heads, an attempt to block the sun rays from their cheeks. Aiame talked with Edward more about Xing, trying to brace herself for what she was going to be living with for the next week or so. She had not easily adjusted to living with Winry in Risembool; it had taken over a month to get the feel of things. Moving to another foreign country would be like adjusting to hell for her, all over again. They set up another camp and enjoyed another dinner of desert-safe food.

On the fourth day on Aiame's trip across the desert, the cycle of monotonous déjà vu was broken. Edward had led them about another ten miles towards the border line of Xing when they caught sight of a silhouette moving through the sands ahead of them. The figure was dressed in white from head to toe, aside from his dark hair, and appeared to be slithering across the ground because of the heat waves radiating between the groups. Aiame was taken back to find someone else traveling the desert, she was set on edge. Ed seemed more excited about it rather than anything else. He sprinted ahead of them, nearly wiping out on his face thirty paces ahead of the girls. They did not know what to do besides chase after him.

"Blonde hair, you must be from the west," the man confirmed. "Are you Edward Elric?"

"Yeah," Ed answered. "Did Emperor Ling send you?"

The taller of the two nodded. "I was told to escort you back to the palace for him," he explained. "I am a royal guardian for the Emperor's sister. My name is Zhou Shihong."

"Nice to meet you," the golden haired man greeted, bowing slightly. Aiame assumed that was custom for Xing. "This is my assistant, Aiame Kuroshi, and her friend Aya."

Assistant, she wondered, since when? "Hello," Aiame said, forcing a smile. Her cheeks were sunburned so it was hard to do anything besides not move her mouth.

"Ah, yes. Emperor Ling did mention there would be two others with you."

"Well, he was supposed to. How far are we from the city?" Ed wondered aloud.

Zhou answered, "It is only another five miles or so. We should be able to make it to the palace by nightfall. Emperor Ling has also requested that he meets with the three of you tomorrow morning, which should allow you plenty of time to rest." He gestured towards the horizon behind him. "Now let's get going."

**This chapter…did not actually turn out like shit like several others I have written for this story. I hope you all like it, I definitely do. We actually get to meet Ling in *takes a moment to think about it* two and a half more chapters! I am excited for that. A final note, thank you all for sticking with this story, all four-hundred readers! (That seems like a number I should be proud of, especially at this point)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Where Edward deems Hohenheim as a father and a foreign girl sprints down the corridors of a palace carrying a metal prosthetic…**

**I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

The heat of the desert seemed to blow over as soon as they entered the heart of Xing's capital, for this Aiame was grateful. She had barely spent a total of five days in the desert but it seemed like a lifetime, being in a big city again was overwhelming. The buildings were built entirely out of wood, consisting of arches and towers and several windows to each floor, and pained with extravagant shades of blue, green, and red. The whole city seemed to be living in the days when its culture was thriving, instead of moving forward and modernizing itself like the people in Central did. Aiame gaped at how beautiful everything was.

Zhou led them to the very heart of town to the palace. It was nearly four stories high with towers on each corner, shooting up towards the sun in the sky. The siding of the palace was vibrant red, the window frames were orange and the roof was the prettiest shade of auburn that Aiame had ever seen. It may have been a palace, but she was shocked to learn that it was so large. She glanced over at Aya – who still had not reconnected her automail – who had the same reaction to the palace that she did, she was wide eyed. Inside was even more beautiful, the walls and floor her dark were freshly polished dark wood trimmed with solid gold. Aiame had not seen that much gold since she first saw Edward's hair. There were beautiful floral patterns carved into the wood and flower beds lining each side of the hallway. Windows were placed at the very top of the walls, separating the wood from the ceiling, letting sunlight illuminate the otherwise dark foyer.

They stopped at the end of the hallway, reaching a splitting point that led to two different corridors. "I am sorry, but Emperor Ling only told me to prepare for two guests," Zhou informed, bowing his head in apology. "I will personally make sure that we find another chamber for you, but someone needs to decide who will room on the other side of the palace." He gestured to the corridor to the right. "Who is going to wait here?"

Aya's hand shot into the air, as if she was going to answer a question in school. "_I can wait here_," she offered. "_It is more important for them to be together._" Aiame glared at her.

Zhou could not comprehend a word the girl had just said, but he understood her motion. "Lan Fan!" he called down the corridor to the left. Aya peered down the hallway, uncertain of what type of figure was going to appear. Suddenly, a slim figure dressed in all black sprinted down the hall. Aya leapt backwards as Lan Fan landed just before her. "Watch after her for a moment," he instructed.

"I am watching after the master," the figure responded strictly, her voice sharp. "I have no time for guests."

"Is the Emperor in the throne hall?"

"Yes."

"Then you have time. I will be right back." Zhou turned down the right corridor, Aiame and Edward followed at his heels. Aya watched them leave before she turned to Lan Fan, who clearly wanted nothing to do with her. It was not until she saw the other female's automail that she felt at ease, even if hers was equipped with a blade. She could at least relate something about herself to the Xingese stranger.

Aiame kept checking over her shoulder to look at Aya as she walked away from her. Zhou led them around a corner and she could not see her friend anymore. Immediately, Aiame began to worry. How could she have let Aya volunteer to be the loner? That was not fair to her in any way, shape or form. She could assume why she did that, at least; Aya wanted Aiame and Edward to be alone together or at least be without her. She smiled to herself at the thought; Aya cared about that too much. All that was really left to do was change Edward's mind about her being 'sweet'.

The bedroom was rather large, simply furnished, but by all means too big for just Edward and Aiame. There was a balcony overlooking the royal gardens, spotted with green shrubs and bright flowers that reminded her of the ones found back in Aerugo. There was a dresser pressed against the side wall that only rose about knee-high, and it supported a mirror that reached the ceiling. Their beds would be the thin mattresses that were pressed against the opposite wall, made with a silk sheet and plush feather pillows. Off to the side of each wall, there two doors that lead to a bathroom and a walk-in closet filled with traditional Xingese clothes. Aiame's jaw dropped to the polished wooden floor. This was even better than she had expected when coming to the palace, it was a fairytale.

"This is just like him," Edward chuckled, throwing his suitcase and backpack on the mattress closest to the open balcony, "Of course Ling would go all-out with this."

"This place is amazing!" Aiame exclaimed, tossing her belongings aside and flopping down onto the remaining bed. She could not help but be dazzled by the room.

Ed sat down on the edge of his mattress, smiling. "I would consider that an understatement."

xXx

Aya's eyes were locked on the hallway were Aiame and Edward had disappeared. Doing nothing besides wait for Zhou to return next to Lan Fan, the girl who stood at still as a statue grew very awkward. She wanted to go look for them, but she was afraid that Lan Fan would get mad at her and slice her head off with the blade attached to her automail – she was already pissed off as far as Aya can tell. She knew that was completely false, but could not help but fear her for it anyways.

Zhou turned the corner and Aya's heart sank, finally able to relax. He dismissed Lan Fan with a simple hand motion and signaled her to follow after him. She stiffened and dashed after him. Bright sunlight poured in through the window on the right side of the corridor. Zhou led her down one flight of stairs, around a corner to a much slimmer hallway that was lined with light-wood doors on each side. He knew that she could not understand him so he just opened the door on the farthest end and let her inside.

She blinked in fascination. The walls were bright red with a flame-like orange pattern that overlapped itself. The door frame and trimming around the ceiling and floor was bamboo. A single mattress posed as a bed pressed up against the back left corner of the room, a silk sheet serving as its comforter. There were windows on the back room, showing a courtyard, and a door to Aya's right that she assumed led to a small bathroom. Other than those simple details, the room was practically empty.

She sighed, carefully setting her suitcase at the foot of the bed. This would be perfect; she would not have to worry about really unpacking or keeping everything in order.

"_Now what am I supposed to do_?" she called, sticking her head out into the hallway. "_I don't know where anything else is_!"

No one answered her. Aya marched back into her bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed, folding her arms over her chest. Was she just supposed to wait here?

xXx

The sky outside of the balcony was soon dark and embedded with twinkling stars; it seemed to Edward that all of the nights in Xing looked the same. He gazed over at Aiame, who lay on her bed across the room with her back to him, wondering if she was really asleep. He would have asked, but would have felt bad if he ended up waking her. He had never shared a room with anyone besides his brother so it was strange to look over and not see a metal suit of armor looking back at him.

He had not even seen Alphonse yet. Edward figured that he would be with May, wherever she was, studying or something. He wanted his brother to be there with him, he still felt lonely without Al around. It was as if only yesterday they had begun their journey to search for a Philosopher's Stone, as if only yesterday was their first day away from Risembool. He wondered if Alphonse thought the same way he did, if he was as stuck on the past as he was. In most ways, Edward was glad they had made it through those times – alive and well. But in others, he was filled with sorrow. He wanted to travel with his brother again. He wanted to be known around his country as a hero. Hell, he just wanted to use his alchemy again. Edward had been living in his own world for years and then it changed so fast without warning, it hit him in the face without him ever seeing it coming.

Edward returned his attention to the starry sky. He did not believe in god, but he did want there to be a heaven. Thinking of the years he had spent traveling around Amestris brought back the images of those lost. He wanted them to be happy, to not be shunned into the evil thing known as the Gate – the only greater force that he was sure existed. Ed imagined his mother there, in heaven, sitting on a porch and wearing the glazed look in her eyes as she waited for his father to return like she had for so many nights after she thought her boys were asleep before she passed. And, for once, Hohenheim would be walking up that dirt path towards the house, holding a halo of flowers specially transmuted for her. The thought brought a small smile to Edward's lips.

He looked at Aiame again, wishing that he had someone to talk to. It was as if she knew, even in sleep, that his eyes were on her for her shoulders twitched. Edward realized now that he was simply impulsive to invite her to tag along with him; they barely knew each other but for some reason, everything was smooth between them. He just did not want to be by himself while he traveled across the country and the eastern side of the continent. It had turned out much better to be with her than he expected though. Aiame was the type of person where not a word could be said between him and her and nothing would be awkward. There was the issue of her multiple-personality-disorder that seemed to flare often but Edward had learned to easily put up with it.

xXx

Aya drifted in and out of consciousness all night, she never slept a comfortable wink. She suffered through the pain of automail discomfort until eventually deciding to disconnect her arm from its port and set it on the floor beside her. Aiame would have a fit that she was constantly taking it out and connecting it every time it became an annoyance to her, that's not the point of having automail. Once she had done that, Aya was able to sleep easily without any distress or displeasure.

The next time her eyes fluttered open, morning sunlight illuminated her bedroom. Aya propped herself up on her remaining elbow, pressing her back against the wall behind her. She rolled her head over her shoulders, cracking her neck; it was a habit of hers, she knew that it was bad for her bones but could not break it. She stared downward again, her eyes widened in horror. The hem of her right sleeve was soaked with blood, the thread of the stitches crusted together. Aya slid her index finger along the seam of the port and her skin, finding several lose stitches that Winry had used to hold her skin together. She threw the silk blanket aside, grabbed her automail off of the floor, and dashed for the door.

Aya sprinted barefoot down the hallways of the palace, carrying her automail in her left hand. She followed the corridors from memory, hoping that she was running down the same path that Zhou had showed her. She zoned out, taking in nothing beside how close she was coming to the hallway where Aiame and Edward were staying. A harsh wake-up-call struck her when she found herself on the floor, staring up at Xingese man in red and orange robes that was standing over her. Lan Fan stood behind him, glaring at her.

"Did you come here with Edward?" the man asked Aya. She looked at him in confusion, struggling to get back on her face.

"She does not speak Amestrian, my Lord," Lan Fan informed monotonously, helping pull Aya to her feet. "She comes from Aerugo."

The dark haired man nodded thoughtfully. "_Did you come here with Edward_?" he repeated, speaking in her language this time around. Aya nodded. "_I am meeting with him and his assistant right now. I can show you the way into the throne room if you would like_."

She nodded again. "_Thank you_," she said. Lan Fan shot her one more disapproving look before acting as her crutch as the man led them into a separate hallway. "_So… who are you, exactly?"_

He smiled. "_I am Ling Yao, emperor of Xing._"

**First, I apologize for the past several chapters not being all that great, but it looks like my story is going uphill from here! This was insanely fun to write, especially since I introduced Ling and Lan Fan. To those who are wondering, yes, Ling can speak Aerugian – because he is just that cool. Also, I would like to give a HUGE thank you to my amazing reviewers, especially Anony. Your comments make me day every time I read them. Thank you so much!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Where Aya gets her automail fixed whether she wanted to or not.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Breakfast was rather hard for Aya considering that she had to use her only remaining arm to prop herself up. She did not want to risk reconnecting her automail; it caused her too much pain than it was worth. However, complaining to Aiame about fixing it was not smart, either. She spent so much time simply constructing it for her, asking for another would be insulting. She glanced down the table at Edward, seeking some help, but he was too busy chatting with Ling about something or other. She was being ignored by everyone else at the table, shunned and labeled as a stranger. Zhou and Lan Fan stood behind the emperor at the head of the room, keeping a close eye on her. Aya wished that Aiame would wake up already and come to find them; she was starving herself along with having trouble just sitting upright.

Silence fell over the room as Edward and Ling's conversation broke off. Aya was able to lock her gaze with golden orbs across the room. It seemed to go without saying; they had plenty of time to practice conversations without words, that she wanted him to go check on his roommate. He was the only one there that knew where Aiame was, after all. Ed nodded once, getting up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Ling asked.

"Back to my room," he replied, walking towards the door behind him. "Aya is going to need her automail fixed."

The emperor nodded, as if Edward needed his approval.

Aya watched him walk down the hallway. She felt that she was asking him to do too much, that she was being unfair to him. She would go after him if she could, but, like sitting up straight, could not manage to walk without falling_. So much for distancing myself,_ she thought.

"_Why did you travel here with Edward?_" Ling asked. "_I thought that Aiame was his assistant._" It was strange how he spoke of Aiame as if he knew her, when in reality, he had only heard her name thrown into conversation several times.

"_She is_," Aya told him. "_But she insisted that I go with them because she needed to keep checking up on my automail._"

"_I see. It does seem like she has been having trouble with that, doesn't it_?"

"_I don't think I have been taking very good care of it in the first place, sir_."

Ling laughed. If his eyes had been open (Aya was not sure if they were or weren't, but he could see everything around him so…), he would have rolled them at her remark. "_Sir?_" he repeated, chuckling. "_Please, Ling is fine._" Once she grasped that he was not angry with her, she would have expected him to say 'any friend of Edward's is a friend of mine'. That is what she took his statement as, considering that she saw no reason not to other than that. She was a foreigner sitting at breakfast with the emperor, why should she not be formal? "_Anyways, your automail? How did you break it?"_

"_It is not the automail that is broken. I think there is something wrong with the metal plating. The doctors in Aerugo, since they have never seen automail before, probably did not know what to do when I went through the surgery to have the port connected,_" she explained. "_I believe it is something wrong with the way it is holding to my shoulder_."

"_You don't need a mechanic to fix that_!" Ling exclaimed. "_Alkahestry, Xing's main medical practice, specializes in fixing injuries such as yours. There are even people studying it in the palace who are originally from Amestris so it would be easier for them to fix._" He turned to look over his shoulder at Lan Fan. "Go see if Alphonse is back yet, I'm sure he would know how to fix that."

"Yes, my Lord." Lan Fan followed Edward's path into the corridor. It was not even five minutes later when she returned. Aya wondered what could be taking Ed so long but lost her train of thought easily after she looked up past the emperor's bodyguard. At first glance, she could have sworn the man was Edward. Then Aya noticed that his hair was cropped shorter and his golden eyes were much darker than the alchemists. He was much taller than Edward, too, by at least four inches. Compared to her height, he must be a giant! Beside him was a Xingese girl, about Aya's age, who wore an all pink kimono and her dark hair in tiny braids that fell to the middle of her back. Aya immediately sensed there was something between her and the man.

"_Aya, this is Alphonse Elric, Edward's younger brother, and May Chang, my half-sister._"

Any other time, she would have been insulted by the tone Ling was using with her – he was speaking to her as if she were a kindergartener. Only, now, she was lost in her own little world. She could not lie, she had thought Edward was attractive too when she first saw him. But Alphonse was different, equally as attractive, just less…rough around the edges. He did not seem to scowl when his face was completely blank as Edward seemed to do. His eyes were warmer than Ed's, not nearly as fierce as his older brother's. For a moment, Aya had to remind herself how to breathe.

Alphonse opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Ling, "Aya doesn't speak Amestrian. She is from Aerugo."

"Ah. Well then, what do you need me to do?" Al asked.

"She needs her automail port fixed. The metal plating on her shoulder is falling apart."

"Maybe I should do that, Alphonse," May offered. She placed her tiny hands on his shoulders as she stepped forwards. Aya noted that the way she moved when she was around him was like she was trying to get his attention – as if he did not already have it. She did not like May. "I don't want to risk ruining her port. You haven't had training in that area yet."

"I can do it, thank you, May," Alphonse protested gently.

"Fine then," the Xingese girl agreed. "But don't hesitate to ask for my help." She pecked his cheek.

Aya's feelings were mixed. She was a little scared that they were talking about her and she did not understand and she was furious that May would be so obvious about her public displays of affection. She glared at her to hide her insecurity.

"I won't."

Aside from the word 'automail', Aya did not comprehend a word of what he just said. Alphonse smiled as he walked over to her. He bent over beside her, examining the plating closely. Aya jerked away from him, clutching her automail closer to her chest, and glared. She did not care how cute he was; she wanted nothing to do with some strange alchemist who was going to perform some freaky science on her arm. Drawing in a deep breath, she decided that she could manage perfectly fine on her own until she and Aiame went back to Risembool where Winry could surely fix everything.

"_No, really, I'm fine,_" she whimpered, scooting her chair in the opposite direction. This was probably going to feel like automail surgery all over again. That was something that was easily avoidable. "_You don't have to do that, thanks. I can just go find Aiame, no problem._"

Alphonse stared at her quizzically. He placed a hand on her flesh shoulder. "I am not going to hurt you, I promise," he assured, ignoring her further protests. Al was able to mark both her automail and skin with the points for an alkahestry array. He moved both of his hands so they were suspended mere inches above the metal plating. Aya watched in horror as a sharp-cornered pentagram was illuminated on her shoulder. She could feel her skin tingling, growing tighter with the metal plating.

"_What was that?_" Aya demanded Ling frantically.

"There," Al announced, "all better."

"That was very good, Alphonse," May congratulated, beaming at him.

"Thanks." He reached for the prosthetic limb Aya held in her other arm. "Let's reconnect this now."

Aya snatched her arm away from him, glaring. She slid it into the port herself and then clasped the latches together that connected her nerve cord. She dug her teeth into her bottom lip to keep herself from screaming. After reopening her eyes and giving herself a minute to allow the pain to fade away, she sighed, glad it was over with. "_I don't know who you think you are and nor do I care_," she spat at him, "_But you cannot just go up to people and perform your stupid alchemy on them. You nearly gave me a heart attack."_

Alphonse blinked, taken back. He had not the slightest clue what she had said, but how she said it was wicked.

She slammed her automail fist down onto the table and marched out into the hallway. Aya came to a halt when she nearly rammed into Edward's chest. Aiame stood beside him.

"_What are you so upset about?_" the redhead asked, not able to take her eyes off Aya's arm. Her automail appeared to be fine and in working order but she had not bothered to change out of her old pajamas; her sleeve was still crusted with blood. "_What happened to your arm?_"

Aya pointed a finger in Edward's direction. "_Ling had his brother come to fix my automail plating with alkahestry_," she growled.

"_Why is that a bad thing, exactly…? Shouldn't you be thanking Alphonse instead of running off?_"

The blonde grit her teeth. "_No! He didn't even tell me what he was doing! And since when are you buddy-buddy with him? Why would you side with him on this?" _She stormed off down the corridor that led to her bedroom. Aya knew that she was overreacting, that she barely knew his name and was already being over protective. She was wrong for doing so. But she could not help it any more than Aiame could help about Edward. _Teenage hormones are just a bitch_, she thought.

"What's wrong with her all of the sudden?" Edward asked. "She was fine this morning."

"I don't know. PMS?" Aiame offered.

"Brother!" Alphonse greeted. He took one step into the hallway and had his older brother wrapped in one arm for a side-hug.

"Hey, Al," Edward smiled brightly. He turned back to Aiame, looking at her suggestively. "I think I know what he problem was now."

The mechanic shrugged. "Well this is just dandy!" she exclaimed sarcastically. Automail problems with Aya were problem enough, but if she had already developed a crush on Alphonse then Aiame was in deep shit.

**I wrote this chapter in all of four hours, so sorry if it really blows. I also included several anime puns and you are a thousand times cooler in my book if you caught them and know which shows they are from. Again, thank you so much to all of my reviewers!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Where Aiame and Aya fight about teenage hormones and Edward teaches the redheaded mechanic that simple can be much, much better.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Aiame sat in between Edward and Alphonse at the breakfast table, bored out of her mind. She had lost all interest in the conversation that was being carried out around her. Ling and Ed had been discussing his mission about the Philosopher's Stones, which clearly set Ling on edge. Alphonse and May had been giggling and chatting cheerfully about alkahestry and such, their conversation switched from one trivial topic to the next in a matter of about two minutes. She could be doing so much more right now, especially since they had each finished breakfast about an hour ago. She could be helping Aya with automail or trying to get her to talk about what had happened before she woke up or something productive, not eavesdropping on pointless conversations.

Edward kept glancing over his shoulder at the redhead beside him. Her cheek was pressed against her palm as she propped herself up on the table by her elbow. She stared blankly at the plate that sat before her – she had only picked at her breakfast. Every time he wanted to turn around and talk to her, Ling kept pulling him back into their conversation. He wondered if the idiot prince – well, emperor now – ever shut up. Sooner or later, he would get a full-fledged headache and not be able to put up with it anymore.

"Excuse me," Aiame said quietly, motioning towards Lan Fan. The Xingese girl stepped towards her seat slowly. "Do you know where Aya's room is?"

"Yes."

"Will you show me?"

Lan Fan looked to Ling for approval. He nodded. Aiame thought he must really be rather arrogant after all, even if he had seemed nice. "Of course," she said. "Follow me."

Aiame rose from her seat and walked into the corridor behind Lan Fan. She sensed Edward looking at her every step she took away from him. She followed the Xingese girl down the twists and turns of the palace hallways, noting that she had to try and sketch some of the patterns on the wallpaper on either side of her – they were like nothing she had ever seen before in Aerugo. They reached the bed chambers for palace servants and lesser guests quietly. Lan Fan gestured to the room on the end; she did not even have the door completely open when an automail arm reached up and slammed it shut.

"_Aya_!" Aiame called through the thick wood. She did not hear a reply. "_Aya, open the freaking door_!"

"…_Why should I_?" she sniffled. She was loud enough that Aiame could hear her clearly; she was sitting with her back pressed against the bottom of the door. "_No one cares, you surely shouldn't. Just leave me alone, okay?_"

"_Are you crying over this_?" the redhead questioned, struggling to turn the doorknob. Damn superhuman automail strength that keeps her from opening doors! Aya whimpered something that was supposed to sound like 'no'. "_Seriously, you don't need to sulk off to your emo corner every single time you get upset. Are you mad about Alphonse? Did the alchemy hurt? What really happened?"_

"…_Is anyone with you?_" Aya asked. At least she was willing to answer questions.

"_Just Lan Fan_," Aiame responded. "_Can we come in?_"

The bedroom door slowly swung inward. Aya was sitting on the edge of the mattress; her cheeks were red, but her skin was smooth and not blotchy so she had obviously not been crying. Aiame decided that she was probably just embarrassed or overwhelmed - something that was much easier to sympathize with. Lan Fan closed the door behind Aiame, silently waiting for their little confession-fest to be over with. The sooner she could get back to the Master, the better. She would be worrying the entire time she was with them.

"_Now spill_," the mechanic demanded.

"_The alchemy didn't hurt, it was just really weird. Why would I be mad at Alphonse? I barely know him. So he has an overprotective girlfriend? Should that matter to me?_" she babbled. Aya continued, her words picking up speed as she got further into her thoughts, going on and on and on. Eventually, she gasped for air. Tears had formed in the corner of her eyes.

Aiame sighed, sitting down beside her on the mattress. "_I'm so sorry. We could always go talk to him about it–"_

"_NO!_" Aya snapped. "_He would probably just think that I am some kind of crazy, obsessed, stalker freak!_"

"_He will not. Edward has told me that he is not judgmental at all! Talking to him would be a good idea._"

"_Says you, the girl who already moved in with the guy she has a crush on._" She glared at her friend.

Aiame rolled her eyes. Aya had been like this ever since, well, ever. She had always insisted that she did not care what others thought of her, but when it came to talking face-to-face with someone about something she had said wrong, she was nervous as hell. Not to mention her inferiority and individuality complexes. Aya also tried to keep all of her feelings to herself; she did not feel the need to bother others with them. Now that she had admitted to them, her first, as it sounds like to Aiame, major crush is probably going to wreak havoc on both of them.

"_I just don't understand why you are so worked up over this_," Aiame finally announced.

She groaned, kicking her feet in frustration. "_There was just something about him. I don't know whether it was good or bad but I just… I sound like an idiot."_

"_Honestly, only a little bit._"

"_I am so screwed up_."

"_You just think that because you have never had a crush on anyone before. It looks like your teenage hormones are finally kicking in._"

Aya looked terrified. "_GAH! EW! I do not, repeat, do not have teenage hormones._"

So now she was above natural occurrences of the human body now, too? "_Yes, you do. Everyone does. Anyways, what do you propose we do since you are unwilling to talk to Alphonse about it?_"

"_I say that we just leave it alone and worry about you and Edward_," Aya suggested.

Aiame struggled to get back on her feet. She tried to pull Aya up as well, but she was turned away as soon as she laid her hand on her friend's automail shoulder. Lan Fan unlocked the door, assuming that their conversation was over. She was the one that led them through the hallways to the dining hall again, wondering all the while what they had been talking about. They reached the archway that led to the large table where everyone was sitting. Lan Fan was happy to return to Ling's side, Aiame was less than ecstatic to be there again but gladly took her seat beside Ed, Aya waited in the hallway. Her arms were folded over her chest as she pouted, leaning against the doorframe.

"Is everything okay with her?" Alphonse whispered curiously, leaning over to speak in Aiame's ear. "I hope everything turned out alright. I didn't hurt her, did I?"

Aiame shook her head. "She is just being stubborn. She said that you did a wonderful job on fixing the plating," she lied casually.

Al was relieved. He did not think he could stand to know that he had deliberately hurt someone when he was trying to help her. "That's good," he said. "Do you think she would mind if I went out and asked her about it? I don't want to make her any more uncomfortable than I already have; she seemed pretty reluctant to let me help her."

She could not help but grin slightly. If Aya insisted on being stubborn, than she was going to need some help along the road. "I think she would like that very much," Aiame assured him, her devious smirk changing into a bright smile. "The only problem is she will have no idea what you are trying to say. She doesn't speak Amestrian."

"Do you think that you could help me with that then?" Al asked optimistically. "I mean, give me something in Aerugian to say or the translation of something she will say to me?"

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Her mood right now is unpredictable. I have no idea what to tell you." Aiame sighed, looking around for anything to write with. "If you have any paper, she can write in Amestrian, but I don't see anything…"

"It's okay," he told her. "I will try to manage on my own." He pushed backwards in his seat, brushed May's hand off of his arm and stepped out into the hallway. He smiled gently at Aya. She frowned and turned away from him. All she wanted right now was to be left alone, as soon as Aiame was done at the table, she was going with her and Edward to discuss something important – like the mission Fuhrer Mustang assigned them. She did not want to be spending time with Al. "Hello, Aya."

"Arufonsu," she spat, fumbling to force the Amestrian word out of her mouth.

He was confused as to why she was acting so cold towards him. "Is…your…automail" – he pointed her metal arm – "okay now?" he asked slowly, hoping that she could make some sort of connection between her own language and the words he was saying. She nodded sharply, refusing to look at him. "Did I do something wrong? What are you so upset about?"

"Not thing," she assured, her words slurring together. Al assumed that she was trying to say 'nothing'. Maybe she could understand more than she was letting on. Aya's breathing grew deeper and drawn out, her chest rose and fell nervously. She did not know what else to say and was damn sure that Alphonse was not going to say anything more.

Alphonse was thinking of a way that he could make it up to her. Nothing came to mind. He thought harder. There was one thing that seemed appropriate, but he wondered if it was too over the top. "Will you let me make it up to you?" he asked. He could almost see the gears turning in her head as she tried to comprehend what he was asking her. After a moment, she nodded. "There is a celebration tomorrow night, I guess you could call it a ball, and I would like you to go with me."

Aya narrowed her eyes. He was either the nicest man alive or the sorriest because he would invite her out of pity. She opted for her second opinion of him. It was unlikely that he was being so kind to everyone all the time. She shook her head 'no'.

"Please," he repeated. She, again, shook her head. Then Aya paused, the expression on her face quizzical. Then, she nodded. Al would be able to sleep easy tonight.

xXx

It was another unsaid competition of who could stay awake the longest between Aiame and Edward. She was lying on her mattress, tightly tucked in by the silk comforter. He was sitting with his back pressed against the wall, his automail leg crossed over his flesh thigh to pick out the remaining sand from their trip across the desert. It was well past one in the morning before either pair of eyes began drooping. Edward was simply wearing himself out trying to think of what he should say to his 'partner'. He wanted to tell how glad he was to have Aiame with him, although, he did not want to sound like some kind of sap. Ed could not come up with anything else; his creative thoughts were running dry.

He turned to her after a minute, his golden hair falling in glossy locks over his shoulder. He could not start with a lie, by saying he had no idea how she could do what she was doing. Ed pretty much assumed that what he went through with Al was much hard; Aiame had not lost Aya's whole body, after all. "You should be proud of yourself," he said. The millisecond the words escaped his mind and were released aloud, he felt stupid. He thought that he sounded too idiotic.

"Hm?" Aiame asked, looking up at him. She pushed herself to sit upright, matching his position across the room.

"What you did for Aya. I think it's nice." Edward was mentally cursing all of the years he spent on the road traveling. He never learned how to talk to girls, let alone girls he was interested in. He spent a majority of his life with his younger brother and foreign princes and womanizing military officials and battling homunculi. Ed had to save his whole freaking country from being turned into a Philosopher's Stone! He had no time to practice talking to girls. "I know what it's like to give up a big portion of your life, I admire that you could do that for your friend."

"Oh. Thanks." She was glad there was barely any light in their room; it wasn't that she was blushing, but she was sure that by now she looked clearly embarrassed or at least uncomfortable. "It was an easy thing to do, I guess. Aya and I are like sisters, even if that is an over-used cliché. And the fact that it was practically my fault she lost her arm in the first place made the decision that much easier. Why do you have your automail?"

It was the wrong question. He could not lie to her; that was not an option. Edward prayed that, since she was from Aerugo and had little knowledge of alchemy, she would not know what he was talking about once he explained it. Any wrong wording of his story and she would be looking at him as a monster. Maybe he could cut everything short, leave it as the basics. Not go into any detail. "I tried to bring my mother back from the dead and I lost my leg as the toll," he said. Nothing more, nothing less; he strictly answered her question.

"Oh. I see. I am so sorry." Sympathizing was not Aiame's strong suit. She let the conversation fall dead, despite being thoroughly interested in hearing the rest of his story. After another minute or so, she could not take the quiet anymore. "You never actually told me what you thought, you know."

Edward immediately knew what she was talking about. "I already told you what I thought. I think it's sweet," he muttered. His stomach rumbled. He ruled it out as just being hungry but somehow sensed that it was something completely different. "What other answer are you looking for, Aiame?"

"I don't know. I was hoping that you could give a legitimate answer, not a simple word."

"So simple is not good anymore? Do you need everything to be complicated in life?"

"Of course I don't!" she exclaimed. It was amazing how he could change her attitude at the drop of a hat. "But the more complex life is, the more interesting it gets. I am not one to sit still and watch from the sidelines." Aiame pouted.

"Are you sure that simple can't be good?" Edward asked, cocking an eyebrow. His mischievous smirk was enough to give his plans away. Unfortunately, Aiame did not catch on.

"Um, yeah, I guess I am. Why?" She turned to look at him just as he leaned across the gap between them.

His warm lips pressed against her cheek, much closer to her mouth than he intended. Her hazel eyes grew wide with shock. Edward pulled away, smiling. "Because I'm not."

**I cannot help but bask in my writer glory right now. That was perfect. Aiame, you better like it!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Where Aya and Alphonse arrive at civil ground and Aiame and Edward find their reason to be in Xing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

As her realization of her all-too-real teenage hormones hit her, Aya also began to slip into her 'I hate the world' phase. To her, everyone else had just moved on. She locked herself in her bedroom, wrapped herself up in her silk comforter, and allowed herself time to think about everything that was happening. She decided that if everyone else had forgotten about her, that it should be just as easy to forget about them.

Edward had kissed her best friend. For the first time, she realized that she liked him more than just any other guy. She had always thought that, even though she could barely admit it to herself, she was better than Aiame. She was the one who was in every advanced class her school had to offer, she was the one who was social, she was the one who – even though she would never admit it to anyone but herself – was pretty. Why would Aiame be chosen over her? Maybe it was whatever Aiame and Edward talked about when she could not understand them. Aya's heart began racing; maybe the stupid redhead told him everything bad about her she could think of! Ed probably thought she was a freak for all she knew.

She knew that she gave up a big portion of her life for them. Aya could be at home in Aerugo right now, writing or spending time with other friends or figuring herself out on her own. But, no. Instead, she was in Xing – _Xing!_ – crying her eyes out because she the truth smacked her in the face. There was nothing for her to do. She was pitied, that is why she got any attention at all. No one really cared; Aiame just felt guilty, Edward felt sorry, Ling barely knew her and was jumping to conclusions, Lan Fan hated everyone, and Alphonse hated the fact that she did not like him.

Alphonse. He was even more beautiful than Edward. He was even more caring than Edward. He appeared to be so much nicer than Edward. He was kind to her despite the fact that Aya was freaking out and scared out of her mind when he tried to help her. She knew that she liked him, maybe the same way that she liked Edward, but there was no way to know for certain. She could not talk to him now, either; she made too big of a fool out of herself to ever have the courage to look him in the face again. Aya just wanted to disappear.

She knew that she was better than this, than the way she was feeling now. It was simply heartbreaking to her that no one else seemed to think so too.

Aya's head shot up when she heard a knock on the bedroom door. She clutched the hem of the blanket tighter, readjusting it around her shoulders. The plating over her bicep snagged, nearly ripping the thin fabric. She wiped tears from her eyes. "_Come in,_" she sighed, carefully controlling her voice so she would not sound as if she was falling apart at the seams.

"In Amestrian please!" a gentle male's voice requested, his voice muffled by the thick wooden door. Her heart leapt in her chest, beginning to beat a million miles per hour.

"Open, Arufonsu," Aya repeated. As much as she hated Amestrian, as much as she hated the way the ugly words rolled off of her tongue, she hoped that Alphonse liked the sound of her voice. She knew that she loved the sound of his. Then she began to panic. What if she had said something completely different than what she meant? What if she sounded like a fool?

The door swung inward. Alphonse stood leaning against the frame. Aya stared at him, hoping that her amazement was masked by her horrible tears. He was immediately shocked when he laid his golden eyes on her. Al rushed inside, kneeling down at the foot of her bed. She tried to pull away from him but he grabbed her hand, forcing her to look at him. He held up a tiny notepad, a letter was neatly printed purple ink.

**Aiame said that you could read and write in Amestrian, so, I hope you understand this. **Aya paused, nodding to say that she could comprehend what he was trying to show her. **I don't know what upset you so much, but I have a terrible feeling that it is my fault. I came in here to apologize. **She knew his type all too well; she constantly had to deal with boys like him back home. Alphonse just did not like to have people mad at him; it was more of a self-issue than caring what she thought. He released her hand, reached inside of his pocket and handed her the purple pen.

She did not know what he wanted her to say to him. Aya grasped the pen in her automail hand, setting the notepad on the mattress. She wanted to say that it was not his fault, that she barely knew him and had no right to be mad with him. But that would be lying. Then what would be left to say? Was she supposed to say that she was only ticked off because he had such an obnoxious girlfriend – even though she and May had never said two words to each other? Aya was an idiot and nervous, her brain was not processing anything correctly. She knew that she had taken too long to answer. Her shoulder began to quiver, the rest of her arm following. She struggled to keep the pen in her hand.

Alphonse quickly took the pen away from her. He remembered this; it used to happen frequently when his brother was still getting the feel for his prosthetic limbs. His hands began to tremble, but he still thought he knew what to do. Al pressed his left palm on the seam of her skin and automail – where he guessed it to be, really – and his right pushed her shoulder deeper into its port. Her arm almost immediately stopped shaking.

He beamed at her, not taking the risk of taking his hands away to write on the notepad. His smile was genuine. Aya could have sworn that he was trying to torment her with that smile. It made him so loveable; she could not help but feel convivial when she saw it.

When he did pull his hands away – and that was only after Alphonse was sure that her automail was alright – he picked up the pen and notepad. **Aside from your arm, can you tell me what was wrong?**

Explaining to him every little detail to him was not something that Aya fancied to do. **I just don't like it very much here.**

**Maybe I could help. I can teach you to speak Amestrian. **Just as the pen had been passed to her, Alphonse snatched it away. **That is, if you want me to. **He knew that she was, say, a bit unstable at the moment; he had added that just to make sure that he did not sound to forceful with her.

Though it would have been much nicer to hear the offer in his own voice, the fact that he offered at all was enough to melt her heart. **That would be fabulous. Thank you so much. **Aya smiled cheerfully up at him. Her face did not feel so hot anymore, she had calmed down. The day was looking brighter; it was on the right track.

"_Aya!_" Aiame's voice echoed down the hallway. She bounced in through the bedroom door, her red ringlets falling over her shoulders. Confusion tinted her hazel eyes as she tried to figure out what was really going on. "Oh, hi, Alphonse."

"Hi, Aiame," Al greeted, getting to his feet. He turned towards the door.

"_You!_" the mechanic snapped, pointing her index finger at Aya. "_We have exactly three hours until that party starts later. The dresses were just delivered to my room a minute ago, along with any other supplies we would need. I know that I am not going to look so hot, so I am going to make sure that you look amazing. Let's go!_" She marched over and pulled the blond to her feet. Aya called out desperately to Alphonse with her eyes as she was pulled out the door.

Aya groaned. "_Way to go, Aiame,_" she said as she jerked her arm away from her friend's grasp. They were speed-walking down the corridors. "_Do you realize that I was having a moment there? You totally ruined it!_"

The redhead laughed. "_I did no such thing. You will be thanking me later, trust me, especially since you are going to the ball with him anyways._"

They reached Aiame's bedroom. Aya began to breathe easy once she realized that Edward was not there; she was astounded by everything she found in his place. On the mattress lay two sleeveless, Xingese-style dresses that resembled kimonos. One was bright purple, a silver fire-like design danced up the fabric from the bottom hem. The other was jade, a pattern of spring green leaves on a single vine wrapping around the waist and down the skirt. She gazed towards the floor; it had been covered with various beauty products such as brushes, nail polishes of all colours, eyeliner of every shade imaginable with mascara to match, and lip glosses. Aya could not help but wonder what the hell the ball was celebrating. It was all so strange to her.

"_Go change into this!_" Aiame instructed, throwing the lavender dress at Aya. She caught it with trembling hands. She pointed towards the door to the left that led to the bathroom.

Aya was glad to be able to lock herself away again. Looking at Aiame was awkward now. She was worried that she would never be able to get over it. Really, she had just admitted to herself that she had not only a crush on one Elric brother, but two. On top of that fact, Ed had kissed Aiame, so, that kind of meant they were together. It could have meant war for Aya, but she felt it would be best that she left it alone.

She threw her pajamas to the floor and slipped the dress on over her head. Aya stuck her arms through, taking extra precautions so that her automail did not catch on the soft fabric. She smoothed the skirt over her thighs, gazing up at herself in the mirror. For once, she approved of her own appearance. Or, at least, she had at first glance. The closer she examined herself, the more flaws she came to realize. The slice in the dress that ran up to her knee showed way too much skin. The fabric hugged her too tightly – just about everywhere. Her automail clashed with the rest of the outfit. She felt like the ugliest girl in the world.

"_Let me see!_" the redhead demanded. Aya tore herself away from the glass. She stepped out of the bathroom, frowning. "_Oh, what's the look for? You look great. Now, just wait until I'm done with you and then everyone will really be saying 'wow'._"

Not that she thought she could not do it; Aya was horrified to see what Aiame was going to do. "_I look terrible. Let me stay in tonight_," she protested.

After an hour, everything was finished. Aya's nails had been painted with glossy purple polish and her eyes rimmed with metallic eyeliner and mascara. Aiame had spent nearly a half-hour simply on her hair, brushing through it until it had lost every curl and fell limp over her shoulders. She braided the strands that framed her face and pulled them back with the rest of her hair into a ponytail at the top of her head. Aya felt that Aiame was treating her as a doll or a little kid that she could just mold into whatever image she wanted. That state of mind was wiped clean when she looked at herself in the mirror again.

"_Alright, I have finished my masterpiece!_" Aiame announced proudly. "_Now get out. I have to finish working on myself. I'm sure Al and Ed would love to hang out with you right now. They are probably in the celebration hall waiting for everyone._" She was shoving Aya out the door before she could challenge any further.

The blonde was staring at the door as it was slammed in her face. "_What am I supposed to do?_" she asked the wood. "_I don't know where the celebration room-hall-place is_!"

Aiame did not answer her. She turned around and slumped down the hallway. Aya felt so overdressed, so uncomfortable. She could not wait for the ball or whatever it was to start so she could dance, get it over with, and take the dress off and put her pajamas back on. She reached the end of the winding corridor, stepping into the foyer. She gulped as she saw two figures in classic black suits waiting in the center of the dimly lit room, one for her and the other for Aiame. Her breath was taken away as she saw that it was Edward and Alphonse.

"Hello, Aya," Alphonse greeted her blithely.

She did not want to take the chance of speaking in Amestrian; she knew that her voice sounded revolting in the foreign language. Instead, Aya merely waved at them, smiling. It pained her to watch them, especially in such an inept state after being forced into her dress.

Al extended his arm for her. Aya stared at it in confusion; what was she supposed to do? They had already met, so she was not expected to shake his hand. What else was there to do? He sensed her distress and grasped her metal hand. She jerked away from him, hating that he picked that hand to hold. She did not understand how he did not see her automail as disturbing. It was artificial, after all.

xXx

The celebration hall was lit with golden lanterns strung across the ceiling. Streamers were hung on the walls and the floor seemed to have been dusted with glitter. The dance floor was crowded with Xingese dignitaries, noblemen and women, and nearly everyone who worked in the palace. After seeing what some of the other girls had decided to wear, Aiame felt extremely underdressed. There were gorgeous gowns from nearly every country she knew of being worn at the party, there were costumes from Drachma, Amestris, Xing, and even Aerugian-styled. Edward asked how she knew that, suspecting an unseen feminine side to his partner, but her only response was that she knew because when she used to study poses, she had a book of different fashions that acted as her models.

As a slow song began to play throughout the hall, the excitement at the ball quickly died down. Edward wrapped his arm around Aiame's shoulders, bringing her closer to him. She was too busy to notice as she was watching the crowd around her dance. Aya and Alphonse would occasionally appear through windows in the throng; her cheeks were bright red but she was at least smiling as they spun together.

"I think that you are having more fun watching everyone dance than dancing yourself," Ed remarked. His hands swiftly fell to her hips. "Don't you want the chance to have a good time, too?"

Aiame shook her head. "I have two right feet," she told him.

"Right…?" he echoed.

"Well, I am left-handed so I am better on my left foot. Therefore, the expression for me is 'I have two right feet'," Aiame explained, laughing. "I can't dance."

"So? It doesn't mean that you can't try," he shot back. "You have two perfectly good legs, dancing should be no huge feet. And you aren't the one hobbling around on automail."

The song changed; it was now upbeat, a wordless love song. The notes were clear and easy to listen to, Aiame's favorite type of music. Edward simply turned so he stood before her, moved one of his hands to hold hers in a loose tango position. He stepped backwards, she mirrored. He stepped to the side, she followed. He stepped forwards, she shadowed him. They repeated those simple movements for the remainder of the song.

"And you thought that you couldn't dance," Edward smirked. "You are doing fine – better than I am, at least."

"Hah! I have tripped over my own feet only a thousand times!" Aiame declared.

Ed rolled his golden eyes. "I didn't see it, it doesn't count."

She was led backwards a step and accidently bumped into another couple. Aiame whirled around to see Emperor Ling dancing with another Xingese girl around her age. It took the redhead a minute to figure out that his partner was Lan Fan (the only asset about the body guard that gave it away was her automail arm which had been stripped of its fatal blade). As an automail mechanic herself, Aiame was curious as to how they removed the blade. Did they just replace her entire prosthetic with a separate limb? Well, having such close relations with the emperor, that was not out of the question.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized, bowing her head.

Ling laughed it off. "That is no problem, really," he assured.

Aiame was still examining Lan Fan's arm when Edward picked the conversation back up. "This really is a great party, Ling," he complimented.

"I'm glad you think so but I have barely seen you do anything but enjoy yourselves as wallflowers," Ling exclaimed.

"I have never been a social butterfly," Ed told him monotonously.

As she shifted closer to Ling, Aiame could have sworn that she saw something gleaming under the plates of Lan Fan's automail. She looked closer; trying to see what was there besides the normal plating to protect the inner screws and gears. There was a small bottle, only the size of Aiame's thumb, filled half-full with a crimson liquid. What was that doing there?

Ling and Lan Fan said their goodbyes and returned to the party. Aiame leaned in, trying to tell Edward what she had seen, but he already knew. "I know," he whispered in her ear. "That's what we are looking for. That's where Ling hid his Philosopher's Stone."

**That was one long ass chapter! I hope you think it turned out well, I know I do. Also, thank you to the reviewers that responded to the previous chapter – you set a record of comments on a single chapter of my story. I love you all!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Where Aiame does something she should not.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

The Elric brothers sat across from each other at the dining table. Edward was slouched over in his seat, avoiding his younger brother's gaze at all costs. He could not help but think how awkward it was to be sitting here, having this conversation of all others with Alphonse. His younger brother had called their meeting just after lunch that day, insisting that they talk about why Ed had returned to Xing under Mustang's orders. It was a shock to Edward that Al was quick to send the topic spiraling towards a completely different aim. He understood that Alphonse, being without a body for as long as he had been, had been neglected of these type of conversations so of course he would be curious. Edward had just never expected Al to spring these questions on him as quickly as he had.

"I mean, really, Brother," Alphonse began his rambling, "I didn't know what to say to her half of the time. We were dancing, sure, but we weren't talking. I think I bored her after a while." He hid his face in his hands as his cheeks grew redder, afraid that his brother would see.

"Alphonse," Ed cut in. "She can't speak Amestrian. You couldn't have said anything to her anyways. I'm sure Aya was glad that you were at least paying attention to her, that's more than Aiame and I can say for our behavior over the past few weeks." He could see where this conversation was going, and he did not like the looks of it. Al was worrying over things he did not have time for. "Did you write to her?" he asked, Al nodded. "Then you at least tried."

"I'm sure she thinks I'm terrible," the younger Elric groaned, looking up. "I just feel so bad about it."

"Who cares what she thinks of you?" the golden haired brother demanded. "All that matters is that you can turn it around by telling Aya what you think of her. So… What do you think of her?" He raised his eyebrows.

Al's blush darkened. "I think she's sweet."

"Oh no. No, no, no." Edward sounded desperate as he repeated himself over and over. "Never tell girls that they are sweet; it just gets you into more trouble."

His brother looked at him quizzically, wondering what he meant. Assuming that his brother was speaking from experience, Alphonse decided it would be for the best if he did not question any further. "Alright, I'll try to avoid that," he said, drumming his fingers against the table top. Edward observed that the skin between his fingers was bruised. It was not anything terrible, and if he had not looked twice, Edward would have thought it was dirt. The bruises were just in an odd spot.

"What happened to your hand?" he asked curiously, although he thought he had a fairly good answer himself.

Golden irises darted across the room, averting their gaze from Edward.

"Alphonse."

"Hm?"

"It was from her automail, wasn't it?"

Al rolled his eyes. "You were the same way. Actually, I think you were worse. I remember Winry always yelling at you for breaking her things while you were in rehab," he remarked, using a tone that was strangely Ed-like.

"So?" Edward shot back. "I didn't have to worry about bruising you back then. Why didn't you tell her?"

Alphonse knew he did not say anything because Aya would have been hurt. She would have been upset with herself and her automail and would have probably taken it out on Aiame or Edward. He saw much of his brother in her, which is why he figured it would be safe to assume all of that. "You know, you never told me why you came back to Xing," he said, steering clear of wherever their conversation was headed. "Well, except that you were under Mustang's orders."

"That was because that is all I could tell you, Al," Ed explained. If he mentioned any more details, his brother was sure to ask to tag along. He did not want to risk Alphonse in a situation like that, especially since he is so happy in Xing. It would be wrong to pull him away from where he is needed. "I don't want to worry you."

"You're in trouble again," Al assumed immediately.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know if you could call it 'trouble' exactly…"

"Then what is it?"

"It's cleaning up after the mess a couple years ago. Mustang has me looking for the Philosopher's Stones." The words simply poured out of his mouth without a thought crossing his mind; Edward knew that he would end up telling his brother, he just wanted to hide it for longer than he had.

"Brother," Alphonse scolded. "That is dangerous and you could be in trouble. Of course you remember what happened the last time we were looking for the Stone."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I know, save the lecture. But I already know where each Stone is. There are two here in Xing and the other is back east. The only difficulties I will have is when I go back home since I also know who is in possession of them here."

Al gulped. _Ling and May_, he thought. "Who is it…?"

Edward shot him down with a fierce look. "If you don't know already, then I can't tell you," he stated harshly.

The air between them grew awkward as the silence grew. Edward did not lower his eyes or the intensity of his gaze on his brother. He suspected that Alphonse knew more than he was letting on. In fact, he knew that he knew more. His little brother had always been terrible at lying, which was understandable considering that it went against everything Al stood for. Edward glanced down at the bruises on his hand again; he was swarmed with mixed feelings. He understood what had really happened; Aya did not have much control over her automail's strength yet. But he could not help but feel angry that after he had worked so hard to restore Al's body, he was going and ruining it because he was being overly nice to a girl. Aya was tough, she could take it – or at least Edward thought that she could.

* * *

When she and Edward grew distant, seemingly farther apart from one another each time they were together, Aiame told herself that it was only because Ed had no experience with girls. The last time they had said more than two words to each other was at the ball nearly twenty-four hours ago. She at first thought that it would because he was mad at her, but going through a further inspection, she found no reason for him to be. Earlier that day, she was rolled out of bed, bid him good morning and readied her for whatever she was going to do later. When she walked out of the bathroom, Edward had already left – most likely to have another meeting with Ling or Alphonse. Aiame shrugged it off and went off to breakfast, which she was surely late for considering that she had woken up at the exact time it was being served.

There was nothing unusual at the table that morning, nothing of particular interest to Aiame. Emperor Ling was not there for once, not leading the head of the table so Edward was silent in his seat beside where he would have been sitting. May was talking up a storm in her spot towards the opposite end of the table, chatting with no one specific; she seemed to carry out conversations with whoever would listen to her. Aya was alone on the far side of the table, but had taken the time to get dressed in a plain green t-shirt and slacks before coming to the breakfast hall; her hair was still slightly damp from her shower. Aiame noted that it was quite odd for Aya, also considering that she wore the most cheerful grin on her face since arriving in Xing. It was not until Alphonse entered the room and sat down beside her friend with a pad of notebook paper that the redhead realized why. For someone who claimed that she was not flirtatious or even had a crush for that matter, Aya was horrible at trying to hide it.

Aiame sighed lowly and slid into the empty chair beside the golden-haired alchemist. When she thought of it that way, she could not help but think how weird it was that that's what Edward was known for yet she had never seen him perform a transmutation before. "Good morning, Edward," she repeated, since her dramatic sigh had not caught his attention.

He mumbled something inaudible.

She brushed him off instead of trying to understand what he had said. Looking towards the center of the table, there was a buffet type selection set up since Ling was not there to order around his staff. That being said, Aiame saw nothing that spiked her hunger. Breakfast would have to wait. To ease the time, she was about to start talking to Aya but as soon as she looked up, Aiame shrunk back into her seat. The blond was concentrating on writing to Alphonse; it would be best to just leave her alone at a time like that. As soon as she set the pen down for him to write, he slowly slid his hand over hers, holding it lightly to the table. Aya flinched away, pulling her metal hand into her lap. The guilt struck her like lightning, it was Aiame's fault she had the prosthetic. If she had not been so careless, Aya would be comfortable with Al attempting to hold her hand. Though, if she went back far enough, if Aya had not lost her arm then neither of them would be in Xing – let alone have met the Elric brothers.

Breakfast passed slowly. Aiame could barely get a word out of Edward the entire meal, and if she succeeded in any attempts, it was a single word or less. She did not dare try and fit into Aya and Alphonse's conversation, not unless she suddenly wanted to be smacked later. The food had not been changed out, she still was not eating. That left talking with May, which did not sound appealing to the mechanic at all. She could think of nothing better to do beside design automail – Winry would be proud of her. She rose from her seat and left the table.

Once safely locked in her room, Aiame rummaged through her suitcase until she found the back pocket under all of her clothes. She unzipped it and took out her own notebook, surprised that for as long as she had been hiding it there, Aya had not found its spot. Aiame stepped out onto the balcony, sat with her back pressed against the wall, and stared through the railings into the courtyard. The summer was ending; it had reached its peak at the holidays. Deep blues and wispy clouds painted the once cheerful sky, signs that autumn was well on its way. Even the grass seemed greener, as if it was trying to be as beautiful and eye-catching as it could before it was covered with blankets of snow.

After sketching for a good half-hour or so, the bedroom door swung open. Aiame glanced around the edge of the doorway back inside to see Aya peering in through a crack in the door – looking for her. She stuck her arm inside, to give a clue to where she was. Aya darted across the room and onto the balcony, crouching down beside her. The redhead expected her to immediately start talking to her, jabbering on about something or other that Alphonse said. Instead, she simply sat there, watching her draw.

"_Did you need something_?" the mechanic asked without taking her hazel eyes off of the paper.

She bit her lip nervously. "_Well_…" she began. "_I know that you spent a lot of time working on it, and I love that you did this for me, but I hate my automail_."

"_Is there something wrong with it_?"

"_It makes his skin crawl._" It went without saying who she was talking about. Alphonse.

So, there was not a technical problem with it. Aiame did feel terrible about it though. The first time Aya had ever taken an interest in anyone and it was ruined because of automail. Maybe it was not the answer to every I'm-missing-a-limb problem. To her, it was more trouble than it was worth.

"Excuse me," a small female voice cut in. Lan Fan stood in the doorway that Aya had not bothered to close. "Aiame Kuroshi?"

Aiame was quick to stand to her feet. "Yes?" she asked, stepping back inside. She tossed her notebook onto her bed. Aya followed.

"I need my automail to be checked."

It was not surprising how rash she sounded. Aiame would have been shocked if she heard anything but so from Lan Fan. "No problem," she answered. Aiame reached into the back pocket of her suit case again, taking out a small pack of tools that Winry let her take on her trip with Edward. She opened it, gestured for the Xingese guard dog to sit on the edge of her bed, and selected two of the screwdrivers along with a mini-wrench. "Just an average tune-up or is there a specific problem with it?"

"Tune up. Although, there is most likely dirt and sand under the plating so it may need to come off."

Aiame was impressed how much detail Lan Fan paid to her arm; she was sure that Aya never thought like that. She checked all of the major bolts holding her arm together, then the seam of the port to her skin, and finally the joint system. Everything appeared to be normal. She then took the wrench and unscrewed the plating over Lan Fan's forearm. She had been right, underneath the top of her arm had been housing a mixture of dirt and sand crusted against the next layer of metal – just above the nerve cord. Lan Fan must not have thought to remove the bottle containing the Philosopher's Stone because Aiame could see it glinting under some dirt. She gulped nervously; that is what Edward needed.

The redhead was too absorbed in her work to notice Aya comparing her automail arm to Lan Fan's. The Xingese girl obviously knew a little of Aerugian because she was talking with the blond, her head turned in the opposite direction of her own automail arm. Against her better judgement, Aiame reached inside Lan Fan's arm after cleaning out the dirt to take the small flask. She shoved it into her pocket before anyone noticed what she had done. A little too hastily, the redhead screwed back on the top plating to Lan Fan's automail.

"All done," Aiame announced. She smiled to hide her guilt.

"Thank you," Lan Fan saluted. She nodded to Aiame and then walked out the door. She was so uptight.

"_Why do you look so nervous_?" Aya asked curiously, her eyes narrowed.

"_I'm not nervous,_" Aiame protested. The blond clearly did not believe her; she raised her eyebrows. Aiame pondered telling her what she had done, knowing that she would find out soon enough. When the words failed her, she took the bottle out of her pocket, holding it up for her. Behind Aya, she saw her roommate enter the room.

"Aiame," Edward groaned, "What did you do that for?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Where Edward lays down the wall, Ling tries to overpower him, and they realize that the past rules them both.**

"W-What?" Aiame stammered. Anger flared in his golden eyes. She was on her feet, ready to defend herself, but Aiame still found herself cringing away from…she did not even know what to call him. Edward was just Edward. She wanted to say that they were together; it would be nice especially after he kissed her, but Aiame knew that they were not. She would just have to put up with wishing they were for a little bit longer. "I thought that you needed it."

"I do," Ed snapped. "But I don't need you to steal it for me! What in the world was going through your head? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

At first, Aiame mistook his tone of voice as cruelty. She knew that he was angry, sure, but he was not trying to be mean. Edward had only raised his voice because he cared. Despite being so scared that her every muscle was tingling, Aiame felt a tiny bit better about how everything was unfolding with him.

"_I'm just going to go…_" Aya trailed off quietly. She slowly rose to her feet, quick to attempt and dash around Aiame towards the door.

"_Oh, no you don't._" The redhead stuck her arm out to keep the blond from leaving. She did not dare sit through this conversation alone, even if Aya could not understand anything being said. "I'm sorry, Edward. Really, I am."

"No, you aren't. Do you know how bad this is?" Edward demanded. Aiame whimpered, shrinking even further back. "First of all, Lan Fan is a trained assassin. She could kill you in a thousand different ways for this and you would not even realize it until it was over!"

"I didn't know that!" she exclaimed, clenching her fists. The more she pondered on that fact, the more that Aiame grew scared of it. "I wouldn't have done it if I had known she was!"

"But you did anyways," he groaned. "I was just beginning to convince Ling how important it was that I get the Stones back and now you've gone and done this. We are going to have to go home empty handed. Mustang is going to have my head!"

"You make him seem like such a bad guy," the mechanic sighed. "At least not when I talked to him, that is." Aiame could see that she had said the wrong thing.

Edward's glare sharpened. "You were with him for all of five minutes; he was going easy on you. Mustang is really a sleazy, self-centered, womanizing, bastard that cares about nothing more than to prove he is superior. And now that he Fuhrer, _leader of Amestris_, he will do whatever it takes to get his way – I know it."

That did not sound so terrible to Aiame. "So?" she shot back. "You will have to put up with strict orders for a while, hard assignments, and tons of paperwork. Big deal." It was crystal clear that she knew nothing of what it was like to be in the military.

"No. It will be so much worse than that," Edward sneered. "I will be fired, for sure. No more funds for the little research I do. No job that keeps me from being arrested for everything that I do. Nothing at all. And that isn't everything."

Aiame's eyes grew wide with shock. She felt even worse about it now. This seemed like such a big deal over one little stone. "What else is there…?" She knew immediately knew that she should not have asked.

"He could have you and Aya locked away in prison as illegal aliens for how long you have lived in Amestris. You could also be charged as an accessory to grand theft if Ling tells him this story," he explained with a sharp edge to his voice. Edward began pacing across the bedroom; his held his hand over his eyes.

"I know of nothing to say against Ling's story but I am a citizen of Amestris, thank you very much. I had to take a stupid test since I became Winry's apprentice."

"Did Aya take the stupid test too?" Edward countered. "Or are you going to let your best friend rot in a Central prison while we try and convince Ling to give us his stone? That could take years after what you have just done."

The redhead shrunk backwards. If anything, she was not going to let either of those things happen. Aiame glanced over at Aya; she was standing frozen beside her, her eyes were locked on Edward. She could not tell if her friend was scared by the look on her face, or just plain angry. She sighed, "So we leave now and give the Stone to Mustang before anything happens. Everything will work out and no one will lose their jobs or go to jail."

"If only it was that easy," said Ed. "But there are two Philosopher's Stones here in Xing. This would mean we would have to find it and steal it and be gone by tomorrow morning for your plain to work."

She groaned. "Why does everything have to be so complicated?" asked Aiame stubbornly.

His gaze seemed to soften on her. "Are you trying to say you regret coming along with me?"

"No," she spat. "No, no, no. Not at all." Aiame was shaking her hands, as if talking with her gestures meant more than her words.

"_What'd he say?_" Aya interjected, quickly to cut either of them off. Aiame brushed her off without answering. "_Aiame!_"

"_He asked if I didn't want to be here_," she muttered under her breath. "_And I said no, obviously_."

"_Well of course not_," grinned Aya, her eyes gleaming. _"Especially not after he kissed you_." After saying that, when she turned back to face Edward, she found that she was staring at his younger brother instead. Alphonse. She closed her eyes, hoping that the image would go away.

Edward grits his teeth. Every time that they spoke to each other in their language in front of him, the more he grew annoyed with both of them. "Will you stop that?" he demanded, just as Aiame had opened her mouth to reply to Aya. The fire in his eyes was as passionate as ever now.

"_Man-PMS_?" Aya suggested, turning towards the mechanic.

"_Shush_," Aiame scolded. "_This is more serious than I thought. Mustang could put you in jail for this_." She added that last part mostly to scare Aya into keeping her mouth shut. It worked, for her bright green eyes grew wide as saucers.

All that was running through Aya's mind after she had been told that was, '_what the hell did I do_?'

"Well then. What do you propose we do about this, Mr. Oh-So-Great-Fullmetal-Alchemist?" Aiame asked, folding her arms under her chest. "I can't think of anything."

"That's because you aren't trying." He drew his lips into a tight line before announcing, "I will go talk to Ling and see if either of them have noticed yet. You two stay here. Give me the Stone." Edward held out his hand to Aiame. Glaring, she placed the Stone in his palm. It rolled back and forth until finally resting in the crease of rough skin between his thumb and fingers. He spun on his heal and marched out the door.

"_I should be mad at you, you know_," remarked Aya, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. She drummed her automail fingers against the palm of her left hand. Aiame suspected that she was testing for strength issues.

"_Why? Just because Edward is?_" the redhead asked, raising her eyebrows. "_That doesn't seem like you at all._"

"_No, not just because your boyfriend is, thank you_," she sneered, "_I can think for myself. But what you pulled was just ridiculous. I cannot believe you_."

Aiame bit her lip, holding back a whimper. She could not start acting so immaturely at a time like this. Rather than that, she watched Aya turn promptly on her heel for the door. "_Where are you going_?" she questioned. "_You heard him. We have to stay here_."

"_I didn't hear a thing, fabulous translator._" Aya rolled her eyes and continued into the hallway. "_I'm going to go find Al._"

* * *

Edward was not one to grow nervous. Ever. But when he walked into the throne hall and two sets of dark eyes locked on him, he could not help himself. It was as if Ling was trying as hard as he could to belittle the former alchemist with one harsh stare as he stood beside Lan Fan. She was glaring at him as well; although her face was covered with the red and white mask he had only seen her out of on several occasions, reading his face as an open book. Edward's gaze on them sharpened as he approached the center of the room.

"Why are you here, Edward?" Ling asked with his chin raised high in the air. His eyes were open, a sure sign that he felt strongly about whatever situation was going on.

It was in that moment that Edward did not realize what he should say to Ling. If Lan Fan already knew and had told the emperor what had happened, then he could say whatever he wanted. Though, if she had not… "Lan Fan," he addressed Ling's companion first to be safe, "What did you tell him?"

"She is not stupid," the emperor interjected, rising to his feet. "She noticed and told me immediately."

"Why not take it back?" asked Edward. "You had the chance."

"Did you want Aiame dead or did you just want me to kick you out?" Ling countered. "I was not going to be that cruel, Ed. Lan Fan simply reported to me instead of doing anything drastic." He sighed. "Why do you need my Philosopher's Stone?"

"Mustang is supposedly rewriting Amestris. He wants all of the Stones to be destroyed so no one gets any ideas ever again," the golden haired man explained. "You should understand that, especially after Greed."

The emperor's eyes squinted again. "I suppose. But Amestris still is not my country; I have no concern for it."

"Alright," Ed nodded, "Then I guess, as emperor, you don't care if another being like Father rose again and gained control of Xing and wanted to turn its citizens into a Philosopher's Stones." It was the first time he had mentioned a homunculus by his name since he restored Alphonse's body. It felt wrong to talk about it.

Ling, if he had reopened his eyes, would have been glaring at Edward's remark. "Just take it, Edward. Take the Stone and leave. If you don't mind, leaving by morning would help."

"Actually, I can't do that," he said before adding, "as much as I would like to. There is another Philosopher's Stone in Xing that I need to have before I go." Edward's golden orbs darted from Lan Fan to Ling to the floor beneath his feet. Looking back up, he noticed that Ling's eyes were open again.

"You know who has it, I presume?"

"May Chang."

Ling stiffened. "I doubt she even remembers she has it at this point," he scoffed. "You might as well just flee the country now before you get into any more trouble."

"You don't just forget something like that," Edward shot at him. "I will see if Al can talk to her. If she has it, I will take it and leave."

This answer seemed to please Ling. The angry expression that had decorated his facial features softened to a monotonous look. "Fine by me," he approved. With that, Edward shot him a final scowl and turned away, proceeding out the door. He redirected his attention to Lan Fan, who had decided to speak up.

"Are you really going to let him do this, my lord?" she inquired softly, her voice muffled by the mask. Her muscles tensed, obviously showing her disapproving attitude.

Ling shrugged his shoulders, the shimmering gold fabric over his arms readjusting itself with the simple movement. "I don't have a choice," he replied lowly, gazing at the doorway.

* * *

Aya had never been so pleased that someone was paying attention to her. When she first arrived in Amestris with Aiame, she had to do whatever she could to get noticed around everyone else. Not that she faked her automail breaking and all of that, but that was the only time she felt nearly normal. Of course, then there was Central and the desert, where she was almost completely ignored considering that Aiame never wanted to translate for her and Edward did not try to communicate with her until she told him that she could write in Amestrian. Now, in the picture, there was Alphonse, who seemed to put her first every time they were together. Aya knew that he simply pitied her, but it was nice he tried in the first place to talk with her. She walked confidently through the Xingese palace corridors, searching for the room where he studied alkahestry with May. He had showed her the day before, but her memory failed her and she did not entirely remember where it was. It was better to seem like she knew where she was going, though; rather than appear as an idiotic foreigner her had gotten herself lost.

She found the archway leading to Alphonse's 'classroom' at the end of a hallway with ceilings higher above her head than most trees grew. It leads to a patio-like room, enclosed by walls constructed of crystal-clear glass. Running down the center of the room sat a long, light-wooden table, resembling the one in the dining hall. This was the only room that Aya had seen that was not decorated with Xingese tapestries and sculptures; it was the plainest room in the palace. Aya assumed this was most likely because outside, in the courtyard, she could see the green shrubs and exotic flowers clinging to the glass. Adding to the room's beauty, Alphonse sat down at the head of the table. Of course, there was May who sat beside him, showing him something in an alkahestry book, which lessened the allure of the patio – but Aya let that slide.

Alphonse's dark golden eyes grew brighter with happiness when he looked up and saw Aya. Her heart sped up inside her chest. He opened his mouth to greet her but was cut off by May's chirpy soprano voice.

"Hi, Aya," she beamed at her, sliding a slip of paper into place between the book pages. May set the book on top of a short stack that sat on the corner of the table, something Aya had not noticed before.

The blond girl replied cheerfully, smiling back at May. She found that after spending a few hours with the Xingese princess while the younger Elric was teaching her Amestrian, she was a much better actress than she thought. It was easy for Aya to pretend like May did not annoy the hell out of her. Really, the girl worshiped the ground Al walked on – it would irritate anyone after a long enough time.

"Aya," Alphonse scolded playfully, "I know you I taught you that much. Say it in Amestrian, please." He smiled, waiting for her to speak.

With his eyes locked on her, Aya felt that she could not bring the words out of her mouth. She was too nervous. Eventually, she said, "Hello, May."

If the Xingese girl had not already known what she was about to say, she would have never understood what Aya had said to her – her accent was so thick that her Amestrian words still sounded Aerugian. "You taught her well," May told Al over her shoulder. "How long did you spend with her exactly?"

"Just about an hour or so," the younger Elric replied. "She turned out to be really good with languages, especially since Amestrian and Aerugian are so similar."

"It's a good thing she is learning your language first then," May remarked, the intensity of her smile unchanging. "I know that Xingese is much harder to translate to Amestrian."

Alphonse shook his head, ignoring her loving gaze. His eyes remained locked on Aya. "No, I'm sure that she could do it," he told his teacher. "Aya is smart enough to learn it. Although, talking with Edward comes first because she is traveling with him. I don't think learning Amestrian will take that long for her."

The only thing Aya was quick enough to translate was when Al said that she was smart. Her heart bubbled with joy, swelling inside her. He was not trying to flirt with her, that much was clear, but May's reaction to that looked as if he was. Aya watched as her dark eyes water up, the tears sliding to the corners of her eyes. May wiped away the water droplets with her pink sleeve, making sure that Alphonse did not see it. The blond girl could not help but grin to herself when she saw this. Aya moved swiftly to the other side of the table, to sit next to Alphonse and across from the Xingese princess. Al slid her paper and a pencil. He had written across the top margin. **Do you want to start another lesson?**

It was evident that May did not want Al to be teaching Aya at the moment, she nearly scowled at the two.

**No, it's fine. I can wait. Finish with May. **She took the extra second to make sure her handwriting was at its best, clearly legible and that everything was spelled correctly. Once what she had written looked like something along a teacher's handwriting, Aya slid the paper back to Alphonse. She smiled mischievously at May, her eyes gleaming with false happiness.

Before Alphonse picked up the pencil, May snatched it away and scrawled angrily under where Aya had written. **So you won't mind waiting another hour or so? That's when Alphonse will be done with his alkahestry.**

**I guess. But I don't know. Aiame said Edward said we would have to leave soon so I don't know how long it will be before we have to pack.** Aya had told him this thinking that Al would drop his lesson with May to teach her, mostly just to make her jealous. And the fact that just being around Alphonse made her heart ache. Unfortunately, Al took what she said in a completely different direction.

**What do you mean Edward said you were leaving? Like, leaving Xing? **His eyebrows were knit together with concern. Al watched Aya for any sign of answering, she was frozen still.

Aya nodded, her glossy curls bouncing as they framed her face. She knew that she said something that she should not have…again.

**Well you can't just do that, **May cut in, stealing the pencil away from both of them. Aya raised her eyebrows, as if to say 'why the hell not?' **I know for a fact that Edward cannot leave Xing without this**. She reached up her left sleeve. Aya half-expected her to pull out some sort of kunai or another weapon. But instead, May took out a fingernail-sized stone that was crimson red. The blond would have described it as murky, but with a closer inspection, she could see tiny snake-like creatures moving inside of it. It was a Philosopher's Stone.

"May," Alphonse scolded, speaking in a tone that barely came across as a whisper.

"It's bad enough that she is trying to fit into Amestris, but now she is trying to interfere with my country?" the Xingese girl snapped. "That's just a little wrong, don't you think? It's bad enough that your brother is here. Now we have to deal with this again."

"Brother is only trying to help, May. I'm sure that Aya doesn't mean to be a bother to you, she is only assisting him."

"Because 'assisting' is the exact same thing as flirting," said May, her voice rough with sarcasm. "She should not be here."

Aya scowled. She knew that the princess had said something snotty towards her, thinking that she would not understand it. Her gaze remained locked on the Stone in May's palm. Dropping the act and glaring at the girl seated across from her, Aya pushed back in her chair and turned dramatically towards the door. Alphonse was trying to stay neutral by not defending her any further. She suddenly wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Marching through the corridors she decided that the sooner she found Edward, the better.

**Woohoo! Character development and plot advancement! Also, there will be fluff in the next chapter. Mostly because I have been depriving Aiame of it****. Thank you reviewers!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Where they kiss.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Aiame wished that she could have stuck up for herself, that she could have been more stubborn. Instead, she cracked under the intensity of the glare Edward was giving her. She tried her best to ignore him, thinking that she could just wait-out his anger and work it out with him as soon as he is in a more pleasant mood – even though Aiame knew that could mean abiding days.

The hours that had passed earlier had been long and stressful, not to mention especially boring for the mechanic. Aya had ditched her, even after Edward had ordered her not to, leaving her alone in her shared bedroom. Aiame spent her afternoon doodling on the notepad, designing new automail and such until after she had been drawing for such a long time that her 'models' slowly began to appear more and more like Edward. She snapped herself out of it and moved to sit outside on the terrace, humming to herself. The sky was several different shades of dreary gray, painted with wispy clouds like cotton balls that had been stretched apart. Aiame had grown so used to Xing's usually blue and clear sky that seeing a dull one was strange, even if this was what she awoke every day to see in Aerugo. This led her to begin thinking about actually going home; she laughed, knowing that it would never happen. Aerugo may be nice to visit every once in a while, but she did not think that staying there forever was the best idea, at least for her. There were so many more things she was interested in after arriving in Amestris; being an automail engineer was her dream job in the makes, not to mention that was where Edward was.

Now, the sun began to sink behind the horizon, casting deep blue and purple shadows over the palace. Gray clouds had cleared from the overhead view, allowing the evening colors to shine through, slowly dimming with the passing minutes. Warmth of the summer air and the rays of sunlight beating against her cheeks caused beads of sweat to swell on her forehead, but as it began to fade away, her skin grew clammy and sticky. Aiame glanced down at the open notebook beside her feet – the page had been covered with patterns traced lightly in pencil, flowers and kittens and one of the windows across the courtyard that she just thought looked cool. She cursed herself, thinking how she should have brought something else to do along with her.

"You skipped dinner?" asked Edward, closing the heavy wooden door behind him as he stepped inside their bedroom. "Couldn't face everyone?"

"If that's the answer that won't piss you off, sure," Aiame mumbled, folding her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself. She did not shift to look at him; she kept her hazel eyes locked on a single dark cloud that lingered overhead. "What are you doing back here so early anyways? Shouldn't you be negotiating with Emperor Ling?"

"I should be," he replied, coming forth across the room. Ed leaned against the balcony doorframe, sticking his head out to look at her. "But I think that Ling and I have come to an understanding as to why I need the Philosopher's Stone. He already gave it back to me. Now all we have to do is take May's and we will be on our way back to Amestris." He sighed.

The redhead tore her eyes away from the cloud and turned up to Ed. She could see that the anger in his eyes had dulled, which was good news for her. Aiame could not help but smile when she looked at Edward – he was ridiculously flawless and perfect. Her heart melted. "That's great," she muttered. "And then I can send Aya home and get back to my automail." She knew how out of character that sounded, but she needed something to fill the gap of silence that would have been sure to follow. In truth, Aiame would not want Aya to leave. A person could only take so much of only spending time with Winry.

Edward was thrown slightly off guard. Was she being serious that she did not want Aya with them anymore? Or was she just concerned about her training as a mechanic? Did that mean she did not want to spend any more time with him? Ed groaned, thinking how much easier things could be between them if she just said what she was thinking. Then again, he was probably acting the same way. "If that's what you want," he approved, moving out onto the terrace. Ed crouched down beside her, resting his back on the wall next to Aiame. "I thought you would go back to Aerugo with her, though. You know, to make automail for people there."

"I will…eventually. Just as soon as I have given my parents just enough time to forget about me." Aiame nodded promptly at the end of her statement.

"What do you mean by that? They are your family, why would you want them to forget about you?" Edward raised his eyebrows suspiciously. Her answer could not be anything good.

The look on his face was confusing to the mechanic. He looked nervous. "I'm sure my answer is not as nearly as interesting as what you are thinking of," she informed him sharply. "My parents and I don't see eye-to-eye. My brother and I never really liked each other. I prefer to think of them as the people I have been forced to put up with, rather than family. They certainly don't act like it."

Edward supposed that he could relate to that, understand it at least. Even after all of this time, he still was a bottle of mixed feelings when it came to Hohenheim. He was grateful for everything he did for Al and him in the end – and all of Amestris, of course – but that did not change the fact that he left them so young and stayed away when his mother passed. "Oh," he breathed, "I see."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it… What about your parents? What were they like?" Aiame asked. To remind him that she had not forgotten what he had said about trying to bring his mother back to life, she added, "I mean, before your mother died."

His eyes grew soulful and deep, like rippling pools of gold. Aiame could have sworn that Edward was tearing up, but he seemed so calm which led her to think otherwise. "My mother was the best in the world," he told her. "She was smart and kind and caring. It seemed as though everything that she did was perfect." Edward's lips were drawn into a gently smile as his memories trailed through his mind.

Aiame felt that he was looking past her, that she had suddenly become invisible to him. She somehow knew that he was really looking at his mother's face – whoever she might have been. She smiled sadly at him. "I'm so sorry then," was all she could manage to say. Her breath was rough. She wished that he would look at her, for being there. The glazed look in his eyes was worse than him being angry with him. "So sorry."

"No." Edward's gaze sharpened, he regained focus on what was in front of him. Aiame stared at him with wide hazel eyes; her red ringlets framed her face almost strategically. He needed to stop seeing things that were not there. She was not anyone but herself. "Don't pity me. I don't need it. She is happy with him now, wherever that may be." Edward realized that he was keeping her in the dark, assuming it would be better that way.

"…With your father?" she whispered. Aiame was a more perceptive than Edward gave her credit for.

Ed nodded, his bangs falling over his eyes. "Yes."

There was a long, drawn-out silence between them.

"Alright!" Aiame exclaimed, clapping her hands together. She had taken in just about as much as she could take of seeing Edward sad. "Why don't we just talk about something else?"

His eyelids appeared to grow lighter, as did his eyes, as he looked up at Aiame. "It's strange how I never would have imagined you as a peacemaker before. I don't think I really knew you at all when I invited you to come here with me," he admitted, his smile gracing over his face once more.

"Are you trying to say that it was a bad idea asking me to tag along?" she questioned, "Because it sure sounds like it."

"No. I just think that I asked you on a whim, rather than spending the extra time at Winry's with you," said Edward. "I'm just saying that, once again, I acted without thinking."

Aiame giggled. "Does this mean that I am going to have to give you a talk about teenage hormones like I did Aya?"

"Please!" he retorted, his head jerking backwards, "I am hardly a teenager anymore, Aiame. I am nineteen – almost twenty – years old." Silently, he was praying that she did not bring up his height.

She did not know why, but that was fairly hard to believe. Edward almost always acted mature, yes, and he without a doubt had the experience to back it up; but that age did not fit. How could he have been nearly three years older than her and she have barely noticed? "You are not," she laughed freely. "There's no way!"

Edward snorted, rolling his eyes. "Would I lie to you like that?" he asked rhetorically.

"Well, no… It's just… Wow." Aiame fumbled over her words awkwardly. She pulled her attention away from his eyes and looked out towards the sun; the last of its faint orange rays dusted the very bottom of the clouds just above the horizon. She shifted uncomfortably. "So, let me get this straight, you joined the military at twelve and were immediately ranked as a major, made a name for yourself while you traveled the country, and quit to rub it in your superior's face?"

Edward nodded, smirking. "Where'd you hear it put like that from?"

"Winry tends to mumble when she is mending automail." Aiame had not honestly taken the time to fit all of the puzzle pieces together when Winry was talking, but now it all made sense. Now, she wanted to redirect the topic of the conversation away from herself. "So, how many years older are you than Alphonse?"

"Just one," Ed replied.

"One?" she repeated, shocked. "Does that mean Aya is trying to flirt with an eighteen-year-old?"

"Yes…? What's the big deal about that? That's only a year's difference between them. It isn't nearly as large as the gap between you and me."

"She's sixteen!" Aiame exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air dramatically. A sudden, cool evening breeze danced across her skin. She shivered. "That's just wrong! She's a minor and Alphonse is practically a grown man!"

Edward chuckled, "He is not. And Al does not flirt and does not recognize flirting in any way, shape or form. You don't have anything to worry about so calm down." He began to piece together now – after learning about her parents – that Aiame relied on Aya more as a sister than a friend, especially since she was so protective of her. The more he thought about that, the more he realized that she and the blond were like he and Al, at least in the sense that they are as close as siblings and traveling across this side of the continent.

Aiame grumbled as she folded her arms under her chest, stretching her legs out so her feet hung off the edge of the balcony. She began tapping her left foot to an unheard tune, something she was mostly making up as she went along. Her silk, Xingese-style slipper slid off of her ankle, barely clinging to her toes. It fell from her foot and plummeted three stories to the garden below. Edward noticed immediately, he was going to offer to take her down and get it, but Aiame just shrugged before he had the chance to say anything and kicked the other shoe off as well.

"If you didn't like them, why didn't you just say it instead of forcing them off the terrace?" the golden haired man asked, his eyebrows pushed together in confusion.

She shrugged her shoulders again. "I don't know," she mumbled. "I thought the shoes should get a little excitement in their short shoe-lives."

"I didn't know that shoes were alive," he confessed playfully.

"I could draw a comic strip about that!" Aiame mused, absentmindedly. It was clear that she did not care if Edward heard, but that was not meant to be a response. It was her creative side at work. "I could use my special markers and everything! Oh, wait… I left them at Winry's. Damnit!"

She continued to mumble quietly. Edward smiled to himself. It was amusing how she kept jumping from one topic to another, but was obviously still stuck on one thought. He picked up on her facial expressions. "Oh, darn," he muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He put on the act, just like what he would say with anyone else, knowing that because it was Aiame, he would probably end up saying something stupid.

"Edward," she sighed. He looked up at her. "I…I…God, I suck with words…Um…"

He picked up on what she was trying to say as soon as her face began to turn pink. "Is this about the kiss?" he asked.

She nodded. There was something so wrong with the expression on his face. He looked as if he was sorry about it, a million and twenty-three thoughts began to rush through Aiame's mind. "I just don't want to sound like an idiot when I say this, but…" She looked away from him.

Ed suppressed a sigh. As much as he liked her, he hated it when she stammered like this. It made his head hurt, listening to her pause abruptly after beginning a word. "I know."

She looked up at him, the tip of her nose brushing against his. His golden eyes were barely two inches away from her face. He was positive that he was as nervous as she was as he pecked her lips. Edward expected her eyes to grow wide as saucers, though instead they sank slowly until eventually closing completely. He closed his eyes as well. Butterflies erupted in frenzy in the pit of Aiame's stomach. She smirked contently, turning back away to the edge of the balcony, just as Edward ducked in again to press his lips firmly against her cheek. Aiame blushed madly before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Why would you turn away?" Edward demanded playfully, pulling away from her.

She was scared that he was angry again, but when she looked to him, he was smiling. "I don't know! I thought it was over!"

"Well, obviously you need a little bit more practice then." Edward drew her to him again, their lips locking gently.

"Thanks," she said, bouncing to her feet and leaning down to kiss his forehead. "I know that I'm going to need it." Aiame grabbed the notebook off the floor and darted back inside, unaware that that would not be their last kiss of the night.

**Woohoo for filler chapters! This is as much as I could manage in the middle of the week, so I hope you don't mind. Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

**Where they leave Xing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

A panda. The girl had a freaking panda bear sitting on the arch of her shoulder. Aya could not draw her gaze away from the tiny creature. She had never seen one before, only read about them. If she had not taken the extra second to look back at it, she would have thought the plump animal was a black-and-white cat. While no one else seemed to think anything of it, Aya was amazed that May would actually kept the panda on her shoulder in the first place. As if she did not think that May was weird enough…

Alphonse sat to her right; his hand was placed on the seam of her skin and the metal ridges of her automail. When she accidently tugged on several stitches holding two flaps of skin together, she immediately went to Al to heal her instead of asking her mechanic to fix it. After he used his alkahestry skills to sew her skin back into place, Aya asked him to keep his hand there, just as a precaution in case her arm started bleeding. Honestly, she had no doubts of his alkahestry and knew that her skin was not going to suddenly rip open again. Her original intents were to irritate May, but she soon realized that she could care less about what the stuck-up, obsessive Xingese princess thought. Aya simply loved having Al's attention.

Aya's brain was overwhelmed by all of the people talking around her. Alphonse to her right, Aiame and Edward to her left, May was sitting across from her, and Ling graced the head of the table past Alphonse. Now that she had been taught the basics of Amestrian, she strived to comprehend everything being said. But everyone at the table on the patio – which was actually a patio now considering Ling had ordered the glass enclosing the room to be removed from the panels – seemed to forget that she could almost understand them, they talked too fast for Aya to catch on to anything that they were saying. If that was not enough to get on her nerves, Aiame was avoiding looking at her at all costs, she was sure of it. Edward also appeared to be ignoring her as well, so Aya was led to assume that it was something that happened between the pair. Aya groaned, rolling her eyes. They could both be so ridiculous.

"May Chang," Ling snapped, "As emperor and the man who originally gave you the Stone, I am ordering you to give it to Edward." His folded his arms over his chest sternly.

The girl winced. The panda matched her expression in unison. "Is this to buy him out of our country?" May asked. "Who does he think he is, asking for that much?" It was obvious that as much as the girl liked Alphonse, she truly despised Edward. To Aya, that just seemed unfair.

"I'm sitting right here!" Edward growled. "Just because you gained a little power in Xing does not mean that you can ignore me, May. This is not just to buy me out of your country; this is to keep your country safe. Shouldn't you be worried a little about that?"

She scowled at him, her face scrunching together. "I am concerned about Xing. I just see no reason to give you my Philosopher's Stone."

Aya glanced up at Alphonse, hoping that he could break into the fight and settle it from an inside point of view. He did not notice her staring at him. It was annoying to listen to them bicker, shouting back and forth at each other. She ran her fingers through her blond hair, tucking it behind her ear. The most at one time that she could translate from the conversation was '_I just see no reason to give you my Philosopher's Stone_.' It was a clear indication that nothing was going well.

"Alright, I understand," Ed sighed. "If you don't want to give me the Stone, fine. But if anyone from Xing comes crying to Amestris because of–"

"Edward," Aiame cut in. "Will you please calm down? You're acting as if this is the end of the world." She leaned back in her chair, resting her elbows on the edge of the table. Edward drew in a deep through his nose and released it rather loudly.

May shook her arm, a red stone slid from the crease in her pink silk sleeve. She held it across the table to Alphonse. "Take it," she sighed. "I don't want your brother to have it, but I have no problem with you holding on to it. I want you to take some time off of your training, as well. Travel back to Amestris."

Al plucked the Stone out of her palm. "Are you sure?" he questioned, raising his eyebrows. "I don't think that's a very good idea. Brother and I always get into trouble together. Plus, I am not going to waist valuable time away from training."

"You are going to do as I instruct," the Xingese girl ordered, "As your teacher, of course."

Aya rolled her eyes. May was pathetic; she could hardly stand the girl. All she did was try to impress Alphonse, as if she did not get enough attention from him. Aya sighed, thinking how great things would be once they left Xing and were rid of May Chang forever! That sounded like the best idea in the world to her at the moment.

"I suppose I can do that," Al decided, ending the awkward moment of silence. "Brother, is it okay if I go back to Amestris with you?"

Edward's expression softened. "I don't see any problem with that," he nodded. Aya guessed that he was mentally thanking some higher force that he would not have to put up with traveling with two foreign girls alone. It must be a relief for him. "As soon as we get back to East City, I will call Mustang and let him know that you are with me, too. He still insists on knowing everything that I do."

Alphonse smiled. "You say that like it should have changed by now."

"It should have," the older Elric brother grumbled. He hated Mustang from the bottom of his heart, the only reason he was putting up with this damn assignment was because he understood how dangerous it was that there were Philosopher's Stones floating around the eastern side of the continent.

"Is that matter settled then?" Ling asked curiously. "I would honestly like the answer to be yes, this has been getting on my nerves."

* * *

Aya had tagged along with Alphonse to his bedroom, seeing as he would need the extra hour to pack his things before the foursome left to cross the desert again. She was gaping in amazement at his quarters, Al's room was twice the size of Edward and Aiame's – thinking that brought a smirk to Aya's face. Two of the four walls were completely glass; the remaining two were painted with a bright shade of yellow. Xingese carpets embroidered with gold ribbons and twisting crimson patterns covered the floor. His bed and dresser were pressed against the left wall, just beside the closet or bathroom door. Alphonse, as neat as Aya thought she would be, grabbed a patchy suitcase from his closet and threw open the dresser drawers. He pulled out clothing items at random and tossed them into the bag.

Each time that she looked up at him, Aya felt as if someone had pushed her backwards and she was going to lose her balance. Of course, if things would go the way she wanted them to, Alphonse would be there to catch her. If she tried to explain how she felt about him to Aiame, she was sure that she would sound like an insane, stalker freak who was rushing into things. She may agree, but she also decided that she knew everything about Al that she needed to – he was handsome and smart and caring and talented. He was literally perfect. Every time Aya saw him smiling, her heart was tied into a thousand and two knots.

It was not even another two minutes before Alphonse had latched together his suitcase and led her out the door. Aya followed him at his heels down the corridors, grinning ear-to-ear the entire way. She felt that she should be talking with him, commenting about something. But when she looked at him, she was at a loss for every Amestrian word that she had been taught. When she slowed down to allow enough space between them, she began skipping down the hallways joyfully. Alphonse stopped at the edge of the entrance to the foyer abruptly, causing Aya to run into his back. She jolted backwards, apologizing frantically.

Aiame stood beside Edward, dressed strategically in her best. Gray slacks clung to her hips and fell loosely over her legs, and wrapped around her torso was what looked like the top-half of a white kimono that had been graced with tiny black stitches that formed intricate patterns along the hems. She may have been heading for the desert, but her red hair had been washed and now fell to her chin in precise ringlets. It was painfully obvious that she was trying to impress someone. Aya glanced up at Edward, who had not bothered to even change into clean clothes – he remained in black pants and a white dress shirt. Aiame's black suitcase rested against the side of her leg, she clutched Aya's faded blue backpack in her hand. The blond ducked around Alphonse and slung her backpack up her left arm to hang off of her shoulder.

"_Are we ready to go_?" Aya asked Aiame, forcing herself to imagine that neither Edward nor Alphonse was standing there.

"_I think so_," she replied. "_Just to be sure, you aren't going to take your automail out of its socket, right?_" Aiame's hazel eyes scanned her friend's metal prosthetic.

The blond began fidgeting uncomfortably. She yanked her cotton sleeve down over her automail, clenching the hem in her fist. "_If it gets too hot, yes._" Her nose turned up into the air.

"_You aren't supposed to be doing that_," the redhead scolded her.

Aya rolled her eyes. "_You're the one who asked, I might as well answer you honestly._"

"_Someone has had their daily dose of attitude today, I see_." Aiame turned to gaze up at Edward. "We can go now."

The four stepped out into the diming sunlight, a gentle breeze grazed over their skin. Alphonse led them to the edge of the city by foot, where Xing met the desert. By that time, dusk was already beginning to fall over the Xingese sky. A full moon was starting to illuminate the darkening sky, breaking through the wispy clouds. Aya stood off to the side as the other three bickered around her, discussing whether or not to continue on through the desert for their first night or go back to the palace. She felt so useless, just observing as they argued over whose opinion was better. Eventually, they decided to go as far into the desert as they could before setting up camp – it had been Edward's idea. It seemed to Aya that whenever they got into a discussion, Edward always came out on top. He was very good at controlling their discussions so they ended in his favor.

Edward and Alphonse teamed up to set up the tent on the flattest section of land that they came across. Aiame had guesstimated the time to be just after one in the morning – they had been walking for at least four hours. Even at night, Aya could not stand the heat that was beginning to set in her prosthetic arm. She ended up removing her arm from its port shortly after Ed set up their camp. The redhead shot her a sharp glare to scold her, but never actually said anything straight to her face.

An oil lamp had been placed in the back corner of the tent. Alphonse had curled into the opposite corner, being the first one to fall asleep. Aya's eyes were drooping; she was praying that as tired as she was, she would be next to follow his example. Unfortunately for her, Aiame was next to drift into slumber. She was then followed by Edward. Aya was left alone, in the dead of night, with nothing to do. She tried to lie down to force herself to fall asleep, which only worked for all of five minutes. There was nothing she could do. She sat up, resting her back against the side of the tent, a thin cotton blanket draped over her legs. In attempt to ease her painful boredom, she tucked her prosthetic arm under the blanket beside her.

"You put your arm to bed?" Alphonse asked, lifting his head off of his makeshift pillow. His dark golden eyes were glazed with traces of slumber. He gave her a moment to translate what he had said to her, knowing she could comprehend it.

Aya smiled faintly, nodding. "I am not wearing it. I might as well." It was one of the few phrases that she would use from a day-to-day basis. "Good night, Arufonsu." She felt guilty, as if it was her fault that he had woken back up.

"That's cute. It is like it is a child." Al beamed at her. She may have been joking around, but it seemed to show him a bit more of her personality.

"Good night, Arufonsu," she repeated.

"Good night, Aya."

**Well, I made the deadline. I am so terribly sorry for the half-assed chapter; I have had my hands full for the past week. But no worries, I am starting to go more in depth with my chapter planning so the last half of this story will be so much better. I promise! Reviewers are loved!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Where they get a surprise phone-call.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Edward allowed no stop while they were traveling through the desert. Yet, despite that, Alphonse still found time to give Aya more Amestrian lessons. The blond was nowhere near speaking the language fluently, but she was able to make small-talk conversations with Al by the time they finished their trip. Aiame had remained quiet most of the time, the heat had begun to take its toll on her after all – the quicker they got back to Amestris, the better it would she would feel. The trek across the sands only ended up taking little over a week, relieving the four of the dry heat much faster than they had expected.

Arriving in East City reintroduced three of the foursome to poor weather. Although the thunderstorm had ceased, the sky was still painted with a dreary shade of gray. Rainwater had collected in the curbs of the cobblestone streets. The worst of it was, along with the bad weather came a strange buzzing feeling in the port of Aya's automail. She wanted so badly to scratch at her skin that was covered with metal plating. It was a relief when Alphonse found a quaint hotel with an open suite just mere blocks from the Command building where the brothers would be spending their time.

As soon as they had been checked in, Aiame and Aya raced to the two-bedroom apartment on the very top floor. The suite was made of a tiny living area with a single loveseat in front of the window and a table with two chairs just behind it. There was a door on each side of the room that led to separate bedrooms along with their bathrooms, each with two twin beds outfitted with cotton comforters and a vanity – Aiame and Aya in one, Edward and Alphonse in the other. The girls had longed for a bit of privacy since their second night in the desert, and had immediately snuck into their shared bedroom. While Edward was storing away their suitcases and other bags into small closet, his brother sat at the dining table.

"So, how was everything in Xing, Al?" Edward asked, stacking three of their suitcases into the top shelf in the closet. "You seemed to be very chummy with May." He smirked to himself, using the fact that Al could not see his face to his advantage.

Alphonse rolled his dark golden eyes. "Please. May is just…a friend." He ducked his head in embarrassment. The younger Elric knew he had absolutely no feelings for the Xingese princess, but the way that May acted around him would just make anyone uncomfortable. "A friend who likes to cling to me and stay by my side at every waking moment."

"You realize how obnoxious she really is, right? I would hate to have someone following me around like that," Ed remarked. The thought made him cringe; to have someone who worships the ground you walked on and completely obsess over your well-being. May acted not like Al's girlfriend, but more like a mother cares for her young child. Edward knew he would not be able to put up with it.

Al smiled, looking up at his brother. "Brother, you already have someone following you around like that. Her name is Aiame, need I remind you," he chuckled.

"Aiame at least helps me when I need her to. May is simply overprotective." Edward stood upright, twisting to crack his back. His muscles and spine felt immediate relief.

"If you insist…"

The older Elric was very quick to change the subject from there, hoping to avoid any awkward silences. "Speaking of, do you think it will be harder to track down the Stone with two extra people tagging along?" Edward asked. He was worried about either Aiame or Aya getting hurt, even if they don't realize the intensity of searching for the Philosopher's Stone in the first place.

"I have no idea, Brother," Alphonse replied, "I just think you should be glad and a little bit more appreciative that you have such nice friends that are willing to help you." It seemed to him that his sibling did not necessarily want Aya and Aiame to be with him. He knew that Edward liked to do things by himself, but asking them to travel with him in the first place seemed odd if that was what he wanted. Al was confused.

"I am appreciative, Al!" Ed snapped, getting cut off by the shrill telephone ring that interrupted them. He took a step towards the wall where the receiver was ringing off of its hook. Alphonse stepped in quickly, taking the phone and holding it to the side of his face before Edward could grasp the handle.

"Hello?"

"Alphonse?" asked Fuhrer Mustang. "Well, well, well; this is a surprise. I did not expect you to have returned from Xing." His deep voice slurred through the receiver.

Edward rolled his eyes. He was able to hear Roy talking from three feet away. _Arrogant bastard_, he thought. _How did he even find us here? I haven't checked in with the guys at Eastern Command yet!_

"Yes, no one planned on it either," Al told him, shooting Edward a sharp glare. He meant the look to tell him to just back off and go sit down. Ed obviously did not get the message.

"A soldier called to tell me where you were staying, in case you were wondering. I am sure that Edward is wondering about that, or will be as soon as you tell him about this. Anyways. I am taking the first train tomorrow morning out to East City. Before you ask why, all I can say on a tapped military line is because I don't trust anyone but myself to retrieve what you and Ed have…acquired," Mustang explained, lowering his voice.

The first thought that ran through Alphonse's mind was that his brother was not going to be happy about that. "Alright. In that case, I can't wait to see you again." He flashed a genuine smile, despite the fact that Roy was not in the room with him.

"Same to you," Fuhrer Mustang saluted. "I really am glad that you are back in Amestris, Al. This country is in desperate need of people like you, you know."

If possible, Alphonse's smile grew wider. It had been a long time since anyone had complimented him. (May's frequent praises and affectionate gestures did not count so much anymore, considering how often she forced them on him.) "Thank you, sir."

"Yes. I will see you tomorrow evening then."

"Tomorrow evening." Alphonse heard the loud dial tone before he could hang up the phone.

Edward had moved to sit in the free chair at the table, leaning against the back of the couch. His eyes were sharp. "What was that about?" he asked, as if he did not already know. Al glared at him. "I don't want him to come here!"

"Brother," scolded Alphonse. He folded his arms under his chest. "We don't have a choice but to welcome him here."

"I just…" Edward cut himself off with a dramatic, overdrawn-out groan. "I just hate the way he treats you! It's like you're the best thing in Amestris or something. I cannot stand it."

His brother's jealousy made Alphonse uncomfortable. He fidgeted nervously. "Fuhrer Mustang is not that bad. He deserves to be treated better than how you treat him. If you had a better attitude with him, he would be much nicer to you."

Edward's eyes narrowed. "Fine then. Maybe I should try it," he drawled out angrily.

"You should."

* * *

Aiame sat cross-legged on the edge of the mattress, a thin fleece blanket that had been folded at the foot of the bed now wrapped around her shoulders. Aya sat on a stool before the vanity two or so feet in front of her, the right side of her t-shirt pulled down over her shoulder. The blond was examining the plating of her automail, tracing it delicately with her index finger. The redhead could not help but think about how good of a job that she actually did with constructing her friend's automail. If Aya had been wearing long sleeves, Aiame would have barely been able to tell the difference between her prosthetic and flesh arms.

"_Do you know that no one back home has actually seen me with this_?" Aya asked absentmindedly. "_And beyond that, there are only a few people that have seen me without my arm. Natani homeschooled me while you were gone. Hell, I could barely stand up on my own._" She leaned in closer to the mirror, her forehead nearly touching the reflective surface. "_I wonder what everyone is going to think. I mean, no one has probably ever seen automail before_."

"_What does it matter what everyone else is going to think_?" Aiame questioned, raising her eyebrows. "_You look badass with your new arm. Either hide it and act as if everything the same or show it off and have everyone drooling over it. Well, no drool. If you get anything under that plating, I swear I am going to rip your head off._"

Aya threw her head back, laughing. "_I'd like to see you try!_" she exclaimed. "_I could totally just take you out with one punch now, if I needed to_!" She lifted up her metal arm, pretending to flex it as if the muscles were human and not mechanical.

"_Remember who built that arm for you, I know how to take it apart and make it so unusable that not even Winry could manage to put it together again_," Aiame lied smoothly, holding her head high to give off the appearance that she knew what she was talking about.

The blond spun around on the stool, cocking her head to the side. "_You do_?" Her eyebrows knit together and she pressed her lips to form a firmly-set line, clearly showing that she did not believe Aiame.

"_Of course not_!" the mechanic shrilled, bursting into a roar of laughter. Aya was soon to follow. "_You actually think I would be able to manage something that my teacher could ever handle? That's a good one_!"

Aya fought off giggling by biting her lip. "_No one likes empty threats, Aiame_," she spat through her teeth. "_Wait. What are people going to think of you? Are you going to start up a huge automail engineering business and become super rich or something?_"

"_What are you talking about? I am going to stay in Amestris. Once I go back to Winry's, I am going to finish my training with her and then leave for Rush Valley. That's the automail capital of Amestris, in case you didn't know. I think I am going to study there and then work on opening my own shop or something in a town near Risembool,_" Aiame explained. When she said it out loud, her plan sounded a bit less thought-out than it was in her head. She sounded unsure of herself. She watched Aya's expression change, her lips slowly curling downward. "_I thought you would be happy for me. No need to frown._"

"_Oh._" Aya turned towards the vanity again, tucking her chin to her chest so Aiame could not see her reflection in the mirror. She did not want to be alone again. Sixth months by herself in a huge house with absolutely nothing to do was hard enough to deal with, she knew that any time longer than that would surely drive her insane if she did not have Aiame to talk to. "_I suppose it's good to hear that you actually have a plan to stay in Amestris – even if it isn't that detailed. It's a relief that you aren't going to stay in a foreign country for a boy you think is hot_."

Aiame forced herself to laugh, despite being hurt that Aya thought her reasoning would be that idiotic. "_No way_!" she smiled. "_I do have hope with Edward, though. We kissed._"

"_I gathered_," sighed Aya monotonously. "_You make it so painfully obvious whenever something romantic happens to you._" She could not stand the fact that her best friend was having better luck with men than she was. It seemed unfair. She muttered under her breath, "_I hate it_."

"_I'm sorry_?" the redhead asked, raising her eyebrows. She had only pretended not to hear.

The blond shook her head. "_Nothing._" She drew in a deep breath, and released it with a quick exhale through her nostrils. "_What day is it today?_"

"_The fourteenth…_" Aiame tried to look ahead, attempting to see where Aya was going with this.

"_Oh my god!"_ the younger girl exclaimed. "_I've spent the entire summer traveling with you and Edward! That's insanity._" The last time the date on the calendar read 'the fourteenth', Aya had been in the desert on the way to Xing, it was only her sixth night out of Aerugo. "_I have to go back to school in two weeks._"

"_You just said that you were being homeschooled, how would that work?_"

"_Natani still wants me to be home for the beginning of the new semester. That shouldn't change._"

Aiame pouted teasingly. "_So you are just going to pick up and leave me?_"

Something about the tone of her voice just ticked Aya off. She hated when Aiame said things like that. It was pathetic. "_Like you left me?_" the blond shot back cruelly.

"_And what about Alphonse, then_?" the redhead continued without a second thought. She had to bring up a topic that she knew Aya could not pass up talking about.

Aya shrugged. "_Alphonse will still be here, with his brother. Or he will be studying alkahestry in Xing, with May Chang. Or doing whatever else he likes to do. I don't really care._"

"_You know that you care_," Aiame remarked sharply. "_You can't tell yourself that this is just a phase._"

Aya leaned forward, resting her elbows on the edge of the vanity countertop. She really did want to stay with Alphonse, more than anything else in the world. "_This is just like all of the other crushes that I have ever had. It is perfectly harmless and sure to pass._" Aya hated lying. In fact, she could not stand it. But saying anything else would just get her in a shitload of more trouble.

Aiame did not believe her in the slightest. She extended her legs, stretching them over the edge of her bed. Her calf muscles felt strained. "_Fine,_" she murmured, "_If you think so_."

The blond yanked at the right sleeve of her shirt, pulling it back over her metal shoulder. She tied her hair up into a sloppy ponytail at the top of her head and rose from her seat before the mirror. Aya stepped into the living area, closing the bedroom door behind her. She figured that it would be best to just walk away now instead of waiting around and getting made at Aiame. Alphonse sat at the table, his palms wrapped around a crinkling, nearly empty water bottle. She slid into the chair across from him, wondering where Edward was. Al gave a subtle gesture towards the couch; peering over the back, Aya saw Ed sprawled across the cushions – probably asleep.

"Hello, Arufonsu," Aya said mechanically, just the way Al had taught her. She nailed the pronunciation perfectly, as far as they were both concerned. "How are you? How is everything?"

Al smiled. "I am fine. Everything is running smoothly," he answered her; using the only responses he had taught her.

"Wait, wait, wait," Edward snapped, bolting upright. He leaned over the back of the couch, looking at the pair. "Since when? I thought you didn't speak Amestrian."

"I've been teaching her," Alphonse explained, rolling his eyes. "Did you meet Fuhrer Mustang while you were in Central?" he asked Aya.

_You meet…Fuhrer Mustang…in Central?_ She shook her head. "No," she replied.

"Ah. Well, he is taking the morning train here."

"Why do I need to know that?" asked Aya.

"He wants you to be extra careful around him," Ed interrupted, cutting Alphonse off before he could force the words out of his mouth. "You and Aiame both."

Aya appeared puzzled. Ed's sentence structure was confusing; when he spoke, the words jumbled around in her brain like clothes in the dryer. She could not translate whatever he had said, she was lost. "Extra careful…?" she echoed.

"You need to be cautious with Mustang," Alphonse explained, reforming his brother's words. "Despite being here for physical therapy and helping Edward on his assignment, you still are an illegal immigrant when it comes down to it. I know that Fuhrer Mustang would not do anything drastic but I don't want to see you sent home because of something that could have easily been avoided."

"I don't want to leave!" Aya protested. "And he cannot make me!"

"He can and he will," Edward said. "He is a womanizing, pompous, military bastard that is more worried about him than anything else at the moment."

Aya barely understood what he was trying to say. Alphonse had not taught her many adjectives yet, just things he knew that would come up in everyday conversations. He left out his brother's exact word choices when it came to Roy Mustang. Her thoughts switched gears from translating to going home. It could not be that bad; she had just told Aiame that she was going home for school, after all. She hated being left out of the loop though, it was depressing that Aiame would have such a good life here in Amestris and Aya would be wallowing in self-pity. She knew that it would be the smart thing to do to finish school; she still has all of her advanced classes and exams to worry about. If she got all of that done and then came back to Amestris, she would probably be able to do anything she wanted to. Yes, that is what she would do.

"So, now what?" she asked.

Edward glanced towards the widow, letting in soft moonlight. "It's one in the morning; you shouldn't have to ask that question," he sighed. "Good night."

"Good night," Aya sniffed, shuffling into her shared bedroom.

**I hope all of the picky readers out there don't mind that I skipped over their trip back to Amestris through the desert; I just think the first time was hard enough to read for all of you. It was boring and I was not going to make you reread it again. By the way, I went back through my chapter notes and decided that since this story is going to be relatively long, I should add a few more twists to the plotline to make the climax more powerful. Just thought that you all should know. Thank you again for all of my reviews!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Where Mustang arrives and twists our protagonists into an impossible mess.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

It felt like the warm water washing over her sunburnt skin was melting away all of the stress and tension that had built up and stored in her muscles, along with cleaning her of layers of sticky sweat. Aiame felt lighter, fresher with every passing minute. The tile floor was covered in a mixture of dirty water and grains of desert sand. When she stepped out, she felt so relieved and refreshed, all at the same time.

She stepped out, wrapping the plush, hotel towel around her torso. Aiame combed through her dark red hair, squeezing out the remaining water droplets. The drops hit the counter around the sink as she leaned over, staring at herself more closely in the mirror. She could easily question everything that she saw reflected there, looking back at her. Aiame, however, chose not to, refusing to ruin her day when it had just barely started.

Aiame carefully slipped out of the bathroom, grabbed her set of folded clothes off of the dresser and dashed back inside. Once she had put it on, she realized that her outfit was hardly complete. She was meeting the Fuhrer, again, for God's sake! Although she knew next to nothing about dressing any other way than casually, Aiame had always been a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, she knew that her current simple pair of black slacks and a white button-up, dress shirt would not cut it. She examined herself once more in the mirror. At least her hair was cooperating with her today; each auburn lock had fallen gracefully to her shoulder in a glossy ringlet.

She closed the door silently behind her as she stepped once again into her bedroom. Aiame knelt down at the foot of her bed. She reached under and pulled out her suitcase. Digging through all of the clothing items she had managed to pack, Aiame still found absolutely nothing that she could use to make her outfit a little bit more 'shnaztastic.' The only piece in question was her royal blue jacket; it was terribly oversized for Aiame's body type, the fabric seemed to drip off of her. She loathed wearing it. Angrily, the redhead shoved her suitcase back under her bed. A 'thud' was heard as it hit the back wall.

The comforter on Aya's bed rustled as the younger teenager shifted to life. The girl sat upright in bed, the comforter wrapped around her shoulders. Aya glanced over her shoulders at Aiame, rubbing the sleep away from her green eyes. "_Why the hell are you awake so early?" _she asked groggily.

"_I have to meet Mustang later, I don't want to make another bad impression_," Aiame answered. She rose to her feet before flopping back onto her mattress. She released a heavy sigh, gazing up at the ceiling with absolute concentration. "_I am always doing that!"_ she muttered to herself under her breath.

"_Oh_." Aya covered her mouth as she yawned, settling back into a mound of cushy pillows that had been piled along the headboard. "_You think that a nice outfit is going to make up for whatever you said to him last time?"_ She rolled her eyes, turning away from Aiame. All of her weight rested on her flesh shoulder. Aya rubbed her right shoulder, in attempt to massage away the irritation that had swelled inside her automail port. That soon turned into scratching, which soon turned into clawing at the seam of metal plating and her skin.

"_Maybe, probably not_," the redhead admitted. "_It is worth a shot, though. I mean, I cannot be too careful around this man. You should have seen him! He is so…ugh!_" She remembered back to the last time she met with the Fuhrer, recalling the chilling glare from his blind eyes. "_I just want today to be over with already._"

Aya threw the covers to the side of the bed. She swung her legs over to the floor and wobbled sleepily to sit at the foot of her bed. She pulled out her own suitcase and unzipped the front pocket. A shapeless wad of forest green fabric was thrown at Aiame; she held it above her, examining the vest. "_It may not be the prettiest thing in the world, but it matches and brings out the green in your eyes_," she sighed, sitting on the edge of her mattress.

Aiame smirked. "_When did you bother to learn what colors bring out facial features_?" she asked teasingly, sitting upright. She slipped her arms through the holes in the side of the vest, shrugging it over her shoulders. There was slightly too much loose fabric around her chest, but she let it slide anyway. "_It's great_."

"_You've barely had it on for thirty seconds!_" Aya exclaimed. She began to claw at the port of her automail again. "_GAH! Is Alphonse awake yet? I need him to fix this for me!_"

The mechanic's heart sank inside of her, after having become overwhelmingly heavy. She felt guilty that her only automail customer would not go to her for anything when it came to repairs – she _had _to go talk to Alphonse about it first. "_No, I don't think so. At least he wasn't when I went out for breakfast before I got in the shower._"

"_Le gasps! Aiame Kuroshi? Actually eating breakfast? That's amazing!_" the blond remarked sarcastically. She said it lightly, giving Aiame the impression that she was also joking around.

"_I know, I know_," Aiame sighed. "_I'm breaking all of the rules here_." She nodded her head back and forth, her curls bobbing around her face. "_I want today to be over with already_," she repeated.

"_You've said that_," the younger girl pointed out. She paused. "_So obviously that means that you are absolutely bored out of your mind with me. Fabulous. Why don't you go talk to Ed_?"

"_You're that eager to get rid of me_?" Aiame was unsure whether she asked that sarcastically or seriously. Aya was being unusually moody lately, probably because of the poor weather. "_Fine, I will go hang out with Edward._" She inched her way off of the mattress, closer to the door. She slumped into the living area.

It was to Aiame's misfortune that neither Edward nor Alphonse was awake yet, leaving her to slouch onto the couch miserably. She knew that she got on Aya's nerves much too often, something she really needed to work on. She groaned, resting her head against the arm of the couch. Everything about her felt gross and sticky and crammed into a container that provided no room for her to think. Adding to that discomfort, she was dreading the minute that their suite receives a call to notify them that Fuhrer Mustang has arrived in East City. Traveling with Edward was not worth putting up with a jackass like him. Well, maybe it was, she was still undecided about that.

"Good morning, Aiame," Edward mumbled, wandered into the living area from his bedroom. The greeting sounded mechanic, forced. It made Aiame wonder what was going on.

She muttered something that was supposed to sound like 'good morning' but came across more inaudible than anything else. Aiame shifted, her back pressed against the cushions of the couch. The dreary gray sky shown through the sheer curtains, reminding her how monotonous the day was outside.

Edward pushed her legs off of the couch and sat in their place. "What's your excuse this morning?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her. Red curls fell over Aiame's eyes, so Ed was blocked off from seeing most of the girl's face.

She turned, glancing up at him. Her hazel eyes were wide, reflecting the gray sunlight radiating through the window. "Huh?"

"Aya and I feel crummy because of damn combination of bad weather and automail. Alphonse says being out of the mountains in Xing is making him sick. What's up with you?"

Aiame shrugged. She closed her eyes. "I'm not used to this sort of weather, I guess. Xing was pleasant and both Risembool and Central were typical for summer weather. It's just that I haven't had any rainy days like this since I was in Aerugo," she explained nonchalantly. "It's making me miserable."

He reached down, grasping her hand. "I'm sorry," he apologized, lifting her palm to his lips. He planted a quick kiss on the crease that had formed in her skin from bending her thumb.

"You think womanizing is going to fix this?" she shot at him.

"Womanizing…?" he echoed. "You make me sound like I am just as bad as Mustang." Edward dropped her hand. She grumbled, leading Ed to believe he had found what she was upset over. "You don't want to talk to Mustang again. That's it, isn't it?"

"Maybe," she drawled. "I just have such a bad feeling about this." Aiame began to suspect that she was making much too big a deal out of this. Mustang was just another man. Another man who thought he was high and mighty over her. He was Fuhrer, though; maybe he did have that right. No, she was just going to stop thinking about him. She was going to drop it and not think of this man ever again. She opened her mouth, but was cut off by the chime of the telephone ring on the wall behind her.

Edward and Aiame stared at each other for a long minute. The phone rang twice. Ed cocked an eyebrow, as if to ask her if she was going to answer it. They both knew who was going to be on the other end of the line, which is why they remained seated on the couch. The phone rang for the third time. Neither of the two was going to break and get up to answer the phone. All they had to do was sit through one more ring and they would not have to deal with it. Just before the fourth and final ring was over, Aya stormed into the room from her bedroom. She shot a sharp glare in Aiame and Edward's direction as she grabbed the phone off of its hook.

"Hello?" she spat into the receiver. Her cruel expression faded as she continued listening to the man on the other end of the line.

"Well, you are certainly not Edward," said Mustang in that sweetly sour, seductive voice of his. "And you cannot possibly be Aiame. Is it safe to assume that this is Miss Aya Akamatsu?"

Aya nearly gagged. She had no idea what exactly he was trying to pull, but the fact that he was probably trying to win her over with charm was grossing her out. He was – what? – at least ten years older than her. "This is she," she muttered dully. She began to wonder if that was proper grammar in Amestrian. It sounded correct to her, at least.

"Fabulous. In that case, will you please inform Edward that I am in my East office as we speak? The sooner he comes to the meeting, the better," he informed her.

She nodded vigorously. "Of course," Aya told him. "Goodbye." She slammed the telephone back onto its hook, turning back to Edward and Aiame with her arms folded under her chest. "He is a jerk, Edo."

"Tell me about it."

"He says he is in his Ester office now. And he needs you to greet him soon," Aya repeated to the best o her ability. She had a feeling that she was wrong so she corrected herself. "Eastern office. You need to get to the meeting soon."

Edward's eyebrows scrunched together, creasing the skin of his forehead. His golden eyes were dark, obviously unhappy. "Did you tell him that I wasn't here?" he asked. "Or that I came down with a rare type of the flu from Xing? Or something that would keep me out of his office?" Ed ran his hands through his hair, twisting loose strands around the tips of his fingers. "I don't want to put up with him today."

"No one does. But that's too bad, isn't it?" Aiame snickered.

* * *

There were two choices that Aiame could choose from in the room to look at. One was Fuhrer Mustang, whose shaggy raven hair fell over his pale forehead. He seemed to have a stronger oriental sense about him, especially around his gray eyes. His hands were folded in front of his mouth as he watched her intently. The other thing was the window placed on the wall behind him, splattered with raindrops. She could see the rooftops of the buildings beyond, housing puddles of rainwater. Aiame was terribly fed up with the ongoing storm. She had been ordered to sit on of the four chairs set out before the Fuhrer's desk, directly beside Edward. This way she could not look over at him if she was struggling to answer anything. At first, she thought it was a silly idea considering that Mustang could not see her if she did go to Ed for advice anyways. That was, until a blond woman dressed in the Amestrian military uniform stepped into the room. She stood at Fuhrer Mustang's left, her chin held high as she looked down on them.

Aya, who was sitting on the far side of Alphonse, had decided that it was in her best interest if she did not speak during their meeting. She would feel extremely out of place, considering that she was hardly a part of their cause. If Mustang's assistant had not entered the room, she could have gotten Aiame to say that she did not come with them that day. But, no. That was not in the question anymore. Of course, after that incident over the phone, neither was actually speaking up and talking with Fuhrer Mustang. She wanted to leave, but Alphonse had her flesh hand in a death grip to keep her in her chair.

"At least tell me that you remembered to bring what you have been asked to be here for," Mustang sighed. Aiame felt that if he could control the way his eyes looked, he would be shooting a harsh glare at Edward.

Edward groaned. "Do you think I'm stupid?" he asked, pulling the Philosopher's Stones from his pocket. Aiame had to think how strange of a place that was to keep objects of such importance. Edward slammed his clenched fists down onto the Fuhrer's desk and released the Stones angrily.

"Now when did I say that, Edward?" the Fuhrer asked innocently. "I was merely speaking my mind." He shifted, sitting with his back pressed against the leather chair and pulling his hands into his lap.

The blond woman standing beside the Fuhrer rolled her eyes.

"You do that quite often, don't you?" Edward asked rhetorically. His voice was oozing with his strong dislike for Mustang. Aiame was surprised that the Fuhrer was actually allowing him to get away with speaking to him in such a manor, it was odd. Ed began to rise from his chair. "I suppose we had better be going, then. One more Stone to find and I would hate to let you down, sir!" It was clear to everyone in the room that he was being overly sarcastic with that last remark.

"Sit down, Edward," the blond woman ordered. "He isn't done yet."

"What else is there?" Ed demanded. "I gave you the Philosopher's Stones and I still have the last half of the assignment to finish. What is so important that you are going to keep me from what you ordered me to do in the first place?"

"That's exactly it, you see. I specifically gave _you _the order to find the Stone," Mustang snapped. "I allowed you a little leniency for the first half of your mission, to take along two strangers and your brother. But I am afraid that I can't let that continue, especially since they aren't legally allowed to be in Amestris."

Aiame's heart sank. This was what she saw coming; this was what she was having that bad feeling about leading up to this meeting. Nothing was official yet, but this led to another feeling that she would most likely be asked to go back to Risembool. She glanced to her side, to Edward, sadly. "I promised that I would help Edward until the end," Aiame protested.

"Actually, this is the end, Aiame," Fuhrer Mustang cut in. His eyes seemed to have grown darker since the last time that she looked at him. "You have helped Edward enough. The most I can do without being forced to press charges against you is send you back to Aerugo."

At that instant, Aiame officially deemed him as the womanizing bastard that Edward had first described him as. Her eyes grew empty, her expression fell blank. She did not believe what she was hearing. This was much worse than just being sent back to Winry. She was never going to be able to see Edward ever again. She was never going to be able to finish her automail training. Her entire world seemed to have come to a stand-still. What was she supposed to do?

Edward's hand slithered over the arms of their chairs, wrapping his palm around Aiame's hand. He looked over at her, simply shaking his head. She had honestly expected some sort of outburst from him. This was even better, more assuring in the sense of closure.

"What about Aya?" Alphonse asked, his grip tightening around the younger girl's hand. When Aiame glanced over at the pair, she wondered how they had grown that close in only a matter of a few weeks. Maybe she had missed something when they were traveling through the desert. "You are going to send her home as well, aren't you?"

Mustang's expression changed for the first time either of the Aerugian girls had seen. A crease formed between his eyebrows and his eyes grew half-lidded. He appeared puzzled. Eventually, the expression faded as Mustang made up his mind. "Aya can stay with me," he announced. "She can serve as my personal assistant, for the time being."

That clearly set Edward off. "What? How does that even out?" he asked, stomping his foot. The clank of the automail against the tile floor echoed through the room. "What makes you think that Aya deserves to stay while you send the girl who took the liberty to become a citizen of Amestris back to Aerugo? How does that make any sense at all?"

"How would it look if I were to force the daughter of foreign officials out of my country?" Fuhrer Mustang asked, raising his eyebrows sharply. Four sets of eyes glanced towards Aya.

The blond sat, gripping onto Alphonse's hand for dear life, completely clueless as to what was going on around her. Aiame had to translate everything that had been said to her friend, along with explaining why everyone was looking at her. Aya glanced up at Fuhrer Mustang in disbelief. This was why he was so nice to her over the phone; she knew it had to be something devious like this. She redirected her attention to Alphonse, then Edward, then Aiame, and then back to the Fuhrer. Broken down by her nerves, she began rambling about how her parents weren't officials and that if Aiame was leaving the country, so was she.

"She says that she is not going to stay here if I leave," Aiame translated mechanically, without taking her hazel eyes off of her friend as if to say '_are you sure about this?_' "And, besides, her parents are not officials so it would not be a scratch on your record to kick her out of Amestris. It's perfectly fine with her."

"That is very kind of her to say but I have made up my mind," said Mustang. "Either she stays with us in Central or we send her to prison as an illegal alien. And I don't care who takes a note of that in Aerugo." He leaned over his desk again, folding his hands in front of his mouth in that signature pose of his.

"The background check shows that she is only sixteen, sir," the blond woman informed him strictly. "Are you sure it is a good idea to do this? She isn't exactly a prodigy like Edward."

Mustang turned to her. The woman understood his look was supposed to be menacing. "Major Hawkeye, I know what I am doing. If I say that she stays, she stays."

It was amazing that Aya could understand that much. She and Aiame exchanged glances, both wondering how they were going to unravel themselves from this knot of a mess.

"I can't let you do that," Edward said, his voice razor sharp. He looked over at his brother, who was trying to find some way to assure Aya she was going to be fine. It was astounding to him how Mustang alone could cause so much panic amongst the four of them alone. How was Amestris surviving him?

**I really don't want to sound so pathetic that I am going to start begging, but will you guys please review? It's making me very sad that I work my butt off to struggle through bad cases of writer's block to post these chapters and I don't have all that many reviews yet. Hell, flame me, I don't care. Any feedback is loved on my part. (You can totally tell that I'm having a bad day, can't you?) Anyways, as always, updates are soon to come.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Where they are separated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Aiame had been given exactly one hour to return to the apartment to gather her belongings before Mustang was ordering her to leave the country. She stared miserably out the taxi window as they drove to their building, not able to look at anyone else in the face. It was ironic; the one afternoon that the sky above East City had decided to be bright and cheery, Aiame was suffering through what she saw was the dreariest day of her life. She would have much rather preferred to have been soaked to the bone by heavy rains than look up to see the sun smiling warmly down on the city. Once arriving back at the apartment, she was quick to lock herself in her room, away from everyone else. Aiame's darkened eyes had been lined with tears as she pulled out her suitcase from under her bed and refolded all of her clothes before zipping it away. She tried her best to ignore whatever conversation was being held beyond the door, but found that it was much harder than she thought to pretend the two male's voices in the living room that were in the middle of a shouting match were not there. It may, however, be the last that she hears of Edward's heart-melting voice so she should be enjoying it while she could.

Ed was furious. He was not just going to let Fuhrer Mustang walk all over him like this. Aiame was too important, too special, to just let go at a moment's notice. Hell, he did not think that he could let her go if he had a year's notice. Of course, a year's notice would give him much more time to think about how to avoid losing her than a moment's would. Ed hated knowing that he was the reason she was so upset. If he had not asked her to come with him from Risembool, she would be perfectly happy and on the right track to becoming a successful automail engineer and, thus, she would not be forcing herself through a time such as this. _No, that's a bad idea_, he told himself, _that would mean no Aiame whatsoever._ He followed the other three up to the apartment silently, wishing that he was able to think himself through this situation like he has done during all of the other hardships in his lifetime. Thoughts were currently of no use to Edward, though; his head was clouded with emotions. All he could process was that he wanted to keep Aiame with him. Alphonse was not being of much help when he asked for any plans that he might have thought of, he was in a panic state.

Aya happened to be just as stuck as Edward was when it came to thinking of ways around Mustang's orders. She managed to keep her mouth shut during the taxi ride back to the apartment so Aiame could pack her things, an overwhelming depression settling into her bones. After Edward had been forced to escort Aiame from the Fuhrer's office, Mustang had asked to her to pack her things as well so that she could move into military dorms for her new job. It had then dawned on her that she really would be staying with him. Figuring that the brothers had more important issues to worry about, like Aiame, Aya decided that she could bear working for Mustang for a few days before asking Ed and Al to come back for her. As long as she was not forgotten, she could handle the hellhole she was facing. The worst of it was that everyone around her would have to drop what they were doing at the will of one man; she would be working for Amestris, Aiame would be back home in Aerugo, Edward would still be searching for the Stone, and Alphonse would most likely end up in Xing again. That could not happen.

Alphonse was able to think clearly, he was able to come up with a plan that he thought could work under the pressure Mustang was enforcing his orders with. The question was if he was willing to put his plan into action or not. He was always the one to follow the rules and do everything he was told – at least, almost everything. He knew how much his brother cared for Aiame, but he did not see that she was being put in danger. It was important that they do something about having her sent home to Aerugo, but Aya was also under a great amount of stress as well. He did not want her to have to put up with working for the Fuhrer; she was too much alike with Edward to stand it and walk away from the situation with her sanity. If he would not be able to follow through with his plan, he would at least tell his brother of his thoughts. Edward would do whatever it took to get what he wanted. Al was very specific with the details when he began explaining to Ed what he had come up with, being sure to drill the information into his brother's head once he stopped yelling at the top of his lungs. As they came upon the turn of the hour, both Elric brothers knew exactly what they were going to do.

A car had been sent from military headquarters to their apartment building to pick up the group. Aiame was quiet as she packed her suitcase into the trunk, and as she climbed into the car, and during the ride back to Eastern Command. Edward had begun to wonder how roughly she was really taking this. The older Elric brother decided against telling her of their plans, just to make it more believable when they went to the train station with Mustang. Aiame paid no mind to either of the brothers, and only looked over at Aya occasionally. The blonde was not buying the clueless act both Ed and Al was putting on, she continued to pester Alphonse about what they were really up to. Aya eventually gave up and turned towards the car window, pouting.

The boarding platform in the train station was relatively crowded, but there was still enough room to maneuver in between people. Thin smoke hung in the air, making it difficult to breathe without coughing from irritation. Aiame was pretending to act like her suitcase was the heaviest thing she had ever had to lug around with her, just to prolong the time she had with Edward before she had to leave. It did not work, because soon the four were met on the platform by Fuhrer Mustang and Hawkeye, ready to see Aiame off onto the train to the southern border.

"I have worked it out with the station and the crew on the train that Aiame will be taken to the border for free," Mustang explained. "It was the least that I could do, considering."

Edward scowled. "You are too kind," he slurred sarcastically. He placed a hand on Aiame's shoulder, holding her back protectively. "Give us a minute, Mustang." His voice was sharp as he pulled Aiame a few steps back into the crowd of rushing travelers.

"Please, Edward," Aiame began under her breathe, "Don't turn this into some big, sappy goodbye. I know you aren't like that and I really don't want to hear it right now." She sighed.

"No. That's not it. Goodbyes are unneeded. I think that we came up with a decent plan to keep you out of Aerugo," he whispered harshly. Aiame's hazel eyes brightened for the first time all day. Ed added, "For now. You can't ignore whatever family you have left forever."

"Fine with me," she assured. Her heart had begun beating violently in her chest, a thunderstorm swelling in her ribcage. "What is this oh-so brilliant plan that you thought of?"

"It is nowhere near brilliant," he protested before quickly continuing. "All we need you to do is get off the train at the very first stop. That should be somewhere around Rush Valley or Dublith, major cities just south of Central. Avoid anyone in military uniforms, just to be safe. We don't know how far Mustang has gone with taking precautions. After that, ask around to see which train is going furthest east and get on."

At first, it seemed like a great plan. But after a moment of thinking about it, Aiame noticed a few tiny flaws. "How will you know what city I am going to end up in?" she asked curiously.

"I have my ways," Edward smiled. He led her back over to their small group, whispering in her ear, "Now act sad again. One smirk and it could throw off the entire operation!"

She chewed on her bottom lip to keep from giggling like a maniac. While Ed kissed her forehead goodbye, she was tapping her foot nervously, trying to keep her poker face. "Bye, Ed," Aiame spat, choking on her words. She really hoped that Mustang found that believable; if not, she was in deep shit.

Edward refused to let go of her hand as she stepped onto the train, attempting to pull her back onto the platform. Aiame smiled sadly as their eyes met for the slightest second before she turned her back on them and walked into one of the empty cabins. Her heart still threatened to shatter as the whistles blew, the engines kicked into gear, and the train inched its way out of the station. Aiame watched as Edward, Alphonse, and Aya grew smaller on the edge of the platform.

Mustang fought against himself to keep from smirking in front of Edward; even that would be too low for him. "Now that that's taken care of," he announced loudly.

Hawkeye's gaze, serving as Mustang's, settled on Aya. The blonde girl jumped, clinging to Alphonse's arm. She knew what was coming next. "Aya, if you will," the woman stated.

"No," Alphonse protested.

"Alphonse," Edward cut in. "Not the time."

"Then when is, Brother?" Al shot back. It was one of the few times that he had ever talked back to his brother. "Use yourself as an example. When is it right for a sixteen-year-old to be working for the military?"

"It isn't," Ed mumbled. He knew that he was right.

Aya sighed. "I am fine," she assured, turning to the brothers. "Aiame is your main problem right now. Focus on her." She may have sounded like she was trying to do the selfless thing, but all she really wanted was for Alphonse to stick up for her so she would not have to work for Mustang. "Just be sure to come back," she whispered to Al.

"Of course," he replied.

The tension between the two grew as all Alphonse did was stand there, still as a statue, looking down on Aya. She had honestly half-expected him to kiss her on the forehead as well. Instead, he merely extended his hand for her. Aya timidly reached forward with her automail hand to shake his hand. She shuffled off behind the Fuhrer and Hawkeye, clutching her suitcase in her hand.

* * *

Aya found herself once again in the Fuhrer's eastern office. The sky beyond the windows and rooftops had turned once again to its horrid shade of gray. She wanted very badly to cry. Her heart felt heavy. She knew that she could let her guard down now, though, she was not going to be weak. No matter if Ed and Al were more worried about her or Aiame – and it was probably Aiame – she would have to live through this. She would have to. Aya turned to face the door, where Fuhrer Mustang and Major Hawkeye stood.

"I know little Amestrian," she informed them. She normally hated pity, but it did not hurt to use it to her advantage when she needed it. Maybe she would not have to do much for him.

"That is so easy to take care of," Mustang assured. The dead look in his stone cold eyes was creeping her out. "I can be certain that you will have no trouble learning the rest of our language by the time the week is out."

"Oh," Aya breathed, "Alright. Thank you." She ducked her head miserably. That had not worked out like she had hoped. She looked back and forth from Mustang to Hawkeye, wondering what was expected to say next. She thought of who she could talk to at a time like this. Her first thought was Aiame, but it was out of the question now. She was sure that she could not reach her while she was on the train. After Aiame was Ed and Al, which was just as poor of an idea as calling Aiame was. Aya had no idea where they were either. It put her to shame when she finally realized that she should be calling home. That part was what she would leave out when she reached Natani. "Do you mind if I use the telephone?"

"We have already informed your aunt of the current situation, if that is what you were wondering," Hawkeye explained quietly, leading Mustang around Aya to sit behind his desk.

"Thank you, but I think it would be more appropriate if she heard it from me," said Aya. She drummed her fingers against her leg nervously, waiting for a reply.

The woman nodded. "Understandable." She gestured to the wall to her left where the telephone was hanging. Aya approached it, cautious of the fact that she was being watched.

Her fingers were shaking as she dialed the Aerugian number, praying that the line went through. The dial tone echoed in her ears until, finally, someone on the other end answered.

"_Hello_?" Natani's voice greeted. She managed to sound more cheerful than normal. Did she recognize this number from whenever Hawkeye had called her?

"Natani?" Aya asked. "_I am so, so sorry_."

Her aunt sighed. "_I know you are, honey, I know. What on earth have you been doing that requires you stay in Amestris? I thought you were keeping Aiame company while she trained._"

"_I was…_" the girl trailed off, trying to think of how to phrase what she was trying to say. "_Until Edward, the boy Aiame likes, asked us to visit his brother who lives in Xing._" That was keeping in short and sweet, especially since she could not tell Natani of the Philosopher's Stones. "_Then he kind of got in trouble with the Fuhrer, since he used to work for him and all... The point being that I have to stay and work for him._"

"_For who?_" Natani demanded, her voice gaining a razor's edge.

"_For the Fuhrer_," Aya whispered. "_And I know that sounds really bad but Ed is going to be back as soon as he possibly can so I can go home._ _I promise._"

"_And you think that telling me that is going to make it okay? As far as I am concerned, this Edward boy is nothing but trouble. I am coming to get you as soon as I can._"

Aya sighed. "_Yes, please do that. I hate being here already_."

"_One more thing,"_ Natani added, just before Aya had hung the phone up on its hook. "_When you get home, we never tell your parents about this. They'd kill me_."

"_Sure. No problem._" She was saved!

* * *

Aiame had been curled up against the window for hours now. The bench she had been on was barely wide enough for her to be sitting on and with her legs tucked under her, she felt extremely uncomfortable. Her suitcase had been pushed under the bench for safe keeping. She stared out the window, watching as rolling, grassy hills slowly flattened out and farmland was turned into suburbs. Skyscrapers soon shot up from the ground and scratched against the clouds. She stretched out in a very catlike manor, cracking her back several times.

The train pulled into the station at Dublith at midnight sharp. Aiame did not fully recall, but she was almost positive that she had fallen asleep on the train. The last time she had looked out the window, she could see the sun shining through layers of clouds. She sleepily gathered her bag from under her seat and trudged onto the boarding platform. Her legs were still stiff from the trip. The faces of the other people on the platform were just blurry to her. Aiame could barely read the signs that told which cities the departing trains were leaving for.

Without paying much attention, Aiame accidently slammed into one figure walking on the platform. She fell to the ground, gaping up at the man she should have been apologizing to.

"Clumsy much?" Edward asked, smirking playfully. "Really, Aiame, you should watch where you are walking."

She sighed, giggling quietly. "I know, I know," the redhead replied. "I don't need you to nag me."

"Well, maybe you do a little bit," Alphonse chimed in, stepping around his brother. "You certainly aren't listening to anyone else."

"Ha, ha, yeah…" She glanced back and forth between the brothers, amazed. Things did not add up. "Are you crazy?" she demanded, jumping to her feet angrily.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"You mean to tell me that you actually left Aya with Mustang in East City?"

**Done in a day! That, I have to say, is rather impressive for me. I apologize for the rocky start; it didn't turn out the way I wanted exactly. ALSO, the more reviews I get on this chapter, the faster the next chapter will come! I hope that gets your attention. Plus, it gives me an excuse to make sure the next chapter is well-written. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter, as well, you guys are amazing.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**Where Edward figures out what he needs to tell Aiame.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

**Author's Note: I know I don't normally put the author's note first, but I have something that is almost important. In a little more than a month, I am going to my Power of the Pen state tournament. From here on out, I am trying my hardest to improve my writing. I need to know what I need to work on in my chapters, sentence structure, characters, etc. Please, please, please REVIEW! I need as much feedback as I can get.**

As it turns out, as soon as Mustang had left, Edward and Alphonse had boarded the train heading for Dublith as well. He pestered Aiame as to why she did not arrive in the station earlier than he did since she left earlier than their train; did the train break down, was something caught on the tracks, etcetera. It was embarrassing that she had no answer, but she eventually confessed that she had fallen asleep on the ride there.

Edward had also managed to arrange that they sit in one of the small compartments in the back of the train reserved for the military when they leave for Lior, a great relief to Aiame. He and Alphonse seemed to have been accustomed to traveling like this, but it did not seem that special to Aiame. The space was barely larger than two regular benches facing each other in the public section of the train. Although, Aiame could not complain with the cushioned seats and legroom.

"You can get some sleep, you know," Edward told her, lifting his head from its resting place on the glass. He looked up at her, his golden eyes obviously tired. "Lior is at least five hours from here, you have plenty of time."

"I am not sleepy, though," Aiame protested, her eyelids sagging over her eyes. "I slept on the way here, I already told you that. I don't think I could if I wanted to, anyways." She glanced at Al, who had originally been sitting next to his brother on the other bench. The younger Elric brother had curled up in the corner of the compartment, his chin tucked uncomfortably against his neck. "Seems as though Al is alright with the accommodations," she mused.

Ed sighed. "Al doesn't have a very good sense of feeling yet," he explained. "A position that would be uncomfortable for a normal person is perfectly fine for him. He has also told me he has to hold something for a longer amount of time before it starts to feel very hot or very cold. I suppose it is my fault, but he insists otherwise."

"You said 'yet'," Aiame pointed out, shifting to sit with her back pressed against the wall, looking right at him. "What does that mean? He should have a developed sense of touch."

Ed's eyes darted away from her. He folded his arms under his chest and rested his head against the window again. His bangs fell away from his closed eyes.

Aiame pursed her lips. That was not fair, that he would keep secrets when he knew nearly everything important about her. She had a right to know if they were sort of dating and maybe a couple – she was still unsure as to what to classify their relationship as. "What?" she demanded. "You aren't going to tell me? You're acting like a toddler, Edward."

"Who are you calling so small that he is short enough to fit in with the kindergarteners?" Edward roared, bolting upright. He glared at her. Alphonse shifted in his sleep beside him.

She rolled her eyes. "I did not say that," she spat fiercely. Aiame could not say that she had not been thrown off guard by his outburst, and, quite frankly, it was a bit frightening. "Now, why can't you tell me about Alphonse?"

"I don't think it's my story to tell," he grumbled. "If Alphonse wants you to know, then he will tell you. But that probably won't happen until he tells Aya, which has not happened yet."

Aiame groaned. "Please, Edo?" she begged. "I promise that I won't tell Al that I know, or Aya, for that matter. Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"I almost would have changed my mind until you called me 'Edo'," he interrupted her useless repetitions. "I let it slide with Aya because she can't say 'Ed', but you can and I know it."

"Oh, boo hoo!" she remarked sarcastically. Aiame was fed up with this back and forth argument that had spiked up. She wanted answers, Damnit! Her glare on Edward sharpened, in order to try and have him tell her. "What happened to Alphonse?"

He sighed. "I told you that we tried to bring our mother back to life," Ed muttered. Aiame nodded. "Well, as a toll, I lost my arm and leg and Al lost his entire body." She was shocked, but Edward continued in spite of that. "I was able to attach his soul to a suit of armor that was kept in our old house, to save him. That is how we were for most of our years on the road, I had automail and he was trapped in a tin can. In the end, I regained my arm and Al's body with a Philosopher's Stone."

She took an extra moment contemplating his story. Alchemy was surely behind it; otherwise it would have been a bust. What could have caused him to be on the road for so long and how he regained limbs and whole bodies had Aiame at a complete loss, however, she could not think of a single theory to back those statements up. "So after that, when he got his body back, Al had a poor sense of touch?" Aiame asked, wanting to confirm the story. "Is that it? That is a much more interesting story than I was expecting."

"Yeah…" Edward trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. "That's why he is so touchy-feely all of the time, too, if you haven't noticed."

Now that he had mentioned it, Aiame had to agree that Alphonse did tend to stand closer to others than normal people did. And he usually had a hand on Aya's shoulder, or held her hand, or wrapped around her shoulders. She had never thought anything of it before now. "He does do that, doesn't he?" she murmured absentmindedly. "I just feel so terrible. Of course for your limbs and Al's body, but it's all my fault that Aya had to be ripped away from him." She gazed down at Al, wondering if he really did feel as strongly for Aya as she did for him. There would be a seriously kicked ass if he didn't.

"I think Aya will be able to handle herself, Aiame," Edward confessed. His voice sounded scratchy, his pronunciation of words had grown sloppy. He was growing even more tired by the minute. "She will be able to handle herself. Mustang may be the King of Jackassery, but Aya will be able to get away with smacking a little sense into him if she needs to."

That sounded like something that she would say, Jackassery. She smirked, picturing it all too easily. Mustang, sitting behind his desk with his hands folded in front of his mouth, unable to see Aya slip silently into the room and approach him. She could bitch slap him and he would never know who did it! That would be great! Aiame smiled to herself, not able to hold in her fits of laughter. "Yeah," she sighed, wiping laughter-tears from her eyes, "But, still. We abandoned her, I feel guilty."

"So, work it out with her when we go back for her," Ed assured. "She'll understand. And if she doesn't, threaten to take her automail apart. That should work."

"Can't I say the same thing to you, then?" she asked, smirking mischievously. Sleepiness began to settle in to her bones, Aiame felt so much heavier all of the sudden. It seemed as though weights had been placed on her shoulders, keeping her bound to the bench. She glanced up at Ed tiredly. She was not supposed to be tired yet, darn it!

"No, no you may not," he huffed dramatically. "Aya can get by perfectly fine without an arm, but how am I supposed to stand on my own without my leg? She has the unfair advantage." Edward leaned back, stretching his legs out across the compartment floor. His toes jut into the wood paneling under Aiame's bench. "Or, you will just insist on being evil towards both of us."

Aiame snickered. "Maybe I will," she sighed, noticing how even her voice seemed to scream how tired she was. She groaned, flexing her shoulders back. Tension from her back was released as her vertebrae cracked. Her shoulders nearly popped out of place. The sound that reached her ears was disgusting and disturbing on so many levels. "What is Lior like? Have you been there before?"

"Once or twice, I can't remember exactly. It seems so long ago now," Edward rambled glibly.

"You sound old when you talk like that," Aiame laughed matter-of-factly.

"Do I sound like I care? I will talk any way I want to." He was touchy due to deprivation of sleep, Aiame was sure. "I remember Lior being a desert town. The entire population worshipped a false priest back then, before it was overthrown by the military. I went there to search for a Philosopher's Stone."

The redhead nodded thoughtfully. "I see…" she trailed off. "Why was it overthrown by the military? What was so bad about a false priest? He may not have been false; you don't have to accuse him like that. People may have just needed a religion to put their faith in at the time. I know Amestris had difficulties with its government a couple years ago."

"No, that's not it. He was only trying to form a band of followers for himself, to rebel against the military," Ed explained. He ran his fingers through his bangs, ruffling golden strands of hair gently. "Of course, that was just about the time that Alphonse and I showed up and put a stop to things," he announced proudly.

"Was that how you got the Philosopher's Stone to give Al his body back?" Aiame asked. It only seemed like the explanation, seeing as that is why he went there in the first place.

"No. That's a much more complicated story." He sighed. "The Stone in Lior was a complete fake. I am hoping that is not the case this time around, though. So this won't be for nothing."

"I don't think that we are going to have to worry about that, Edward," she told him, resting her head on the window. "You are going to find the Stone, give it to Mustang – without him seeing me, of course – and get Aya out of that hellhole. After that, life should be easy and simple for you."

Ed added, "And you." He smiled meekly.

Aiame's heart erupted into eight-hundred twenty-three butterflies that fluttered quickly enough to sound like hundreds of fireworks bursting inside of her chest. She fought against herself to keep from smiling like a child. It was surprising that two little words could send her into such a fangirl-frenzy. _Oh, stop this_, she scolded herself, _it is just Edward, for crying out loud! Extremely perfect, gorgeous, smart Edward who had the nerve to bring me along with him..._ When she looked further into that topic, Aiame saw no reason for her to have been invited on this journey along with him. But, then again, who was she to argue with the decision of fate? They were both happier this way. She glanced up at Edward, immediately mesmerized by the molten tones in his golden irises. "And me," she agreed.

Edward slide to the edge of his seat. He leaned forward, planting a soft peck on her cheek before she could process what was going on. Ed grinned.

* * *

Aya could not focus on anything. Unfinished thoughts were swimming around her brain, too quickly for her to even attempt to reel in. She lay in bed – not even her bed, or one of the makeshift sleeping bags that she had spent her nights in the desert – staring blankly at the ceiling. Since ordering her to work for him was such a last minute decision, Fuhrer Mustang had not made any sort of arrangements for his new assistant to stay in the military dorms. Until he worked out those details, Aya would be staying in one of the guest bedrooms that were never used in Mustang's mansion. It was plain, not nearly extravagant as the quarters she called her own in Xing, with a window, a bed, and a dresser. At first, Aya had been too utterly shocked to think anything useful. The only words running through her mind were _WTF?_ Eventually, she remembered that he was the Fuhrer and could order anyone in the country to do what he needed them to. He could have easily found her a room in the dorms. Aya came to the conclusion that she was only invited to stay with him because he needed to keep an eye on her.

Well, have Hawkeye keep an eye on her really, seeing as Mustang was blind. But she supposed that having her in the house as well was the easiest way for the two superiors to keep track of her.

She glanced towards the door across from the foot of her bed. Faint rays of light from the hallway shown through the crack left open in the door. Aya had wanted to completely shut the Fuhrer and Hawkeye out of her life for the time being, closing the door seemed like the best literal way to do so. But, honestly, she was scared out of her mind to stay in this room by herself. It was such a relief to know that Hawkeye was going to be out late at a meeting and Mustang was in his study on the far side of the mansion. That way, Aya could fall asleep with the light on. It was a false sense of comfort, but it was enough to last her the first night.

At first, Aya had tried to distract herself by thinking of home. She thought of her conversation with her aunt over the telephone, of Natani promising to travel to Amestris. She was stupid to call her back mere minutes later and tell her it was unnecessary that she take her home. Aya was confident that she would be able to handle working for Fuhrer Mustang, that she would suffer through it and be able to have a good laugh at what an ass he was later – when it was all over. She turned uncomfortably, pulling the hem of the itchy comforter over her automail shoulder. She knew that she was terribly mistaken now, but she could not bring herself to pick up the phone and dial the number to home for the third time today. She could be strong; she could suffer through this like she told Natani she could.

Her mind drifted towards Edward, Aiame, and Alphonse – wherever they might be at that moment. She knew they were together, despite the mechanic being sent out of the country. They were probably on their way to search for the third and final Philosopher's Stone. Those lucky ducks. Aya wanted nothing more now than to be with them, to be doing something of use. She was truly jealous of her friend at this point, for being able to do what she wants and be with who she chooses. That only proves who the brothers like better; they released her into the Fuhrer's custody without a second thought. However, when it came to Aiame, Edward was more than willing to come up with a plan to keep her around. She felt useless, she felt lost, she felt hopeless, and she felt hated. The only one of them who cared she was not traveling with them was Aiame, and that was only because she felt guilty for dragging her across the desert and being at fault for Aya losing her arm. That was not good enough anymore!

Aya reached to her automail port with her delicate flesh fingers trembling. She was struggling to keep her breathing under control, she was gasping in between sobs. Salty tears washed over her cheeks as she unscrewed the bolts holding the port together. She flipped the latch the held her arm to her torso. Her body was jolted with a surge of pain; sharp bolts rocketing down her spine, leaving her unable to move until it faded away. When she was able to move again, Aya sat upright, propping herself up with her remaining arm. The automail had fallen into her lap. She wrapped her hand around the metal wrist and chucked the arm across the room. It crashed to the floor, though not before taking a chunk of the wall out with it. She smirked at the limp arm lying on the floor.

It could not have been another minute before she heard heavy footsteps pounding on the hallway floor. The bedroom door was pushed in slightly, just enough for Mustang to peek in.

"Don't you know any better than you barge into a teenage girl's bedroom?" Aya asked, placing her hand on her hip. She glared at him, despite him not being able to see it.

"It's my house, don't give me that crap." He had stepped into the room now. "What the hell are you doing in here?" Mustang demanded, his voice razor edged.

Aya shrugged. "Rebelling," she offered.

"Against me?"

"No. Against Aiame."

"I suppose that's alright then. What did you do?"

"I threw my arm across the room."

"Did you hurt the wall?"

Aya grinned. "No," she lied swiftly.

* * *

Edward gazed at Aiame. The redheaded mechanic had drifted off into a light sleep, her head resting on the window and curls matted against the glass. She stirred whenever the train screeched on the track, or an attendant came by to check on them. Ed knew that it was about time for him to catch a few z's as well, but could not bring himself to fall asleep. Even if she was asleep, unaware of what was going on around her; Ed still felt that there was so much they needed to talk about right then and there. It was that sense of comfort that drew him to her. It was the sense of happiness that drew him to her. Despite her childish behavior and various other flaws, Edward was not only drawn to her anymore – it was stronger than that and he knew it. He needed to tell her.

He was in love with her.

**Reviews are loved and very much appreciated.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-five**

**Where the author is too lazy to focus on the actual plot, Edward gets questions answered, and we see the last of Aya for a while.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist**

All throughout his teenage years, Edward saw no use for any womanizing skills. He always had something more important to worry about; returning his brother to his body, finding the Philosopher's Stone, saving his country from mass destruction. Now that he was certainly past that stage in his life, being able to talk comfortably with women would be rather nice. It was shocking to him that he spent years working for Mustang, Central's number one ladies' man, and none of that infamous talent had rubbed off on him whatsoever.

He stared at his refection, wishing he was allowed to punch the mirror. Edward scowled at himself, roughly pulling his golden hair into a sloppy ponytail at the back of his head. It looked terrible, but it was the best he could manage since his temper was threatening to rip out every lock of hair if he tried again. He may as well have just let it down. Aiame was going to laugh at him, and then he would not be able to say anything to defend himself. He wanted to sink into a hole. He looked horrible and he was doing something that went against everything he believed in; why was he letting Mustang push him around like that?

"Ed," Aiame's voice drawled through the bathroom door, "let me in."

"No," he snapped. He wanted to be alone, and neither his brother nor the mechanic has granted him that since they arrived at the new apartment.

On the other side of the door, Aiame was hurt. She did not take that as an answer, however. "Please?"

"What makes you think that is going to change my mind?" Edward asked harshly. He folded his arms over his chest for emphasis, despite the fact that she could not see him. His muscles were pulling against the fabric of his dress shirt; the clothing item barely fit him. He wanted very badly to change back into his regular attire – of much more comfortable clothes – and the only thing keeping him from doing so was what he was being asked to do that day. After going nearly eighteen years without it, Edward Elric was going to spend the day in church.

"Why are you being so secretive?" the redhead questioned sharply. "I only want to see how you look. Al said you asked him what would be appropriate formal-wear…"

"Because," he answered, choosing to ignore the last statement of hers.

"Because is not a legitimate answer," Aiame protested.

Edward's mouth fell agape. "You use it all the time!" It was like she could say whatever she wanted, but when he did the same thing… _No_, he scolded himself, _I am just mad at Mustang. No need to take it out on her._

"Aya has taught me the art of fine grammar," she sniffed. It was as if Edward could hear her rolling her eyes. Aiame was using that as an excuse, they both knew it. If she had been talking with anyone other than Edward, they probably would have believed her. "Will you please come out of the bathroom?"

"No."

Aiame groaned. "Stop being difficult!" she spat. "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to leave."

She raised her eyebrows quizzically. "Leave the bathroom or the apartment?" Aiame asked.

"The apartment," Edward replied. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror again. He had only been in a church all of three times that he could remember, and each time he had not been required to wear anything other than his norm. Twice of the times had been kicking-ass in Lior, the third was way back when during Al's baptism. It was one of the few memories he still clung to of his entire family together. "But I am fine if I have to stay in the bathroom."

"Tell me why?" she requested.

"Mustang is an ass."

"Why, yes, he is. We have accomplished that. What does that have to do with anything?" Aiame leaned against the door, the doorknob jut into her forearm.

"He has me going against myself to get the damn Philosopher's Stone."

"What else is new?" the redhead returned. "Isn't that why we spent nearly three weeks in Xing?"

He groaned. "Yes," Ed muttered. He lamely attempted to redo his hair again, pulling it out of its ponytail and retying it. Greasy, golden locks still fell out, framing his face. He glared at himself in frustration.

"Would you like a little help?" Aiame offered, reaching to the counter to grab the brush. "I know a thing or two about doing hair."

"Of course you do, gear head," he grumbled.

She worked her fingers surely to remove the hair-tie without knotting Edward's gorgeous golden hair. Aiame gently stroked the back on his hair with the brush. She had never seen his hair down, and quite frankly, it was amazing. It was silky, despite not being washed in over three days. She became lost in the brushing of his hair; Aiame did not even bother to remember that they both had other things to do. She quickly pulled it up into a ponytail when she caught Ed's golden gaze in the mirror.

"Aiame," he murmured. "I love you."

Her reply was smooth; it sounded as if it had been thought-out when, in fact, the words were passing through her mind at the exact moment they were coming out of her mouth. "I love you, too, Edward."

"I mean it. I love you very, very much," Ed whispered. He spun around to face her. His hands gripped her shoulders, holding her at an arm's length from him. Edward dipped his head forwards, pressing his lips to hers.

She was a tad overwhelmed by the sheer sweet power of his kiss. Aiame pulled away, dazed, her hazel eyes dancing with sparkly pink stars. "Wow," she breathed in amazement.

He bid her goodbye and ducked out of the room. Ed was soon walking out the apartment door, leaving Aiame alone in a large hotel room. Well, Alphonse was sleeping in the bedroom beside her, but she could hardly count that. The fuzzy feeling that lingered from the kiss had slowly begun to wash out of her body. Aiame wandered into the living room, plopping down on the couch. She managed to fall back asleep after about an hour of laying in silence, her dreams filled with Edward.

The rest of Edward's day, however, was not as enjoyable. He attended two church services that morning in the old temple at the edge of town, where Cornello had once preached from. There were no signs of the Philosopher's Stone there at all. He figured that he had just gone against everything he believed in for absolutely nothing. That was, until he came upon a certain pink-and-brunette haired young mother who was less-than-joyous to see him again. Edward, as terrible as it sounds, was glad that Rose had something worth hiding from him. It meant that he was on the right track.

* * *

It was confusing, to Aya at least, why Fuhrer Mustang was keeping her with him. At first, she thought it may have been a hostage situation. However, as the week passed, she realized that she was given too many freedoms to be considered a hostage. As long as she did what she was told, Aya was in the clear.

Her mornings, which could barely be considered mornings by the time she woke up, began with tuning her automail. Aya did this before anything else; she did not want to have the scent of nasty oil hanging in the air around her like it did around Edward. She would wander downstairs and make herself breakfast, and always found a note on the table left by Hawkeye when she sat down to eat. The note would be a list informing her of things like when she was expected to meet them in the Fuhrer's office, if she had to dress in uniform or not, and if she had to bring anything specific with her. After she was finished, Aya would take the note back upstairs with her and clean herself up.

It was the end of the week. She had attended to her automail and eaten what could only have been considered brunch; Aya took Hawkeye's note off the table upstairs with her. Even though it was not the reason behind it, Aya appreciated the fact that the major was the one giving her orders and not Mustang – she probably would have disregarded anything that man said since it was not said to her face. Today it was being required that she wear the blue and white military uniform that she had stuffed into the back of her closet. She had tried it on once before, hated it, and called Hawkeye at HQ to see if really was necessary that she wear it. The major was tolerant of her that first day, but Aya hardly thought that conversation would go over well today. She decided to suck it up and suffer through it.

Aya stared at herself in the mirror. It was terrible, everything was wrong! The hem of the pants came over her hips, she had them fastened as tightly as the strip of fabric around her waist managed and they were still threatening to fall off. She tucked her white undershirt in, hoping that would help solve the problem. It barely did anything. Why was it so important that she wear the damn uniform! She was too short to fit into the pants anyway, which was a little bit depressing. She slid the blue jacket over her shoulders. It took her a moment to figure out how to even secure it around her. There were so many overwhelming and unneeded buttons that she fumbled with before finally being able to remove her hands and have the jacket remain on her shoulders. Unlike most of her other clothes – actually all of them, but she would not go and complain about that – it covered up the fact that she had automail fairly well. There were not any signs of the plating jutting from her forearm or awkward bumps along her shoulder where the port was.

She reread the note as she bounded back down the stairs. Hawkeye was conducting inspections of Laboratory 2 today, which meant that she was going to be alone with Mustang until she returned. "DAMNIT!" she swore in Aerugian, stomping her foot on the stairs. Aya continued out the door, glad that she was able to speak two languages. Being bilingual helped when her boss could not see her; if she wanted to say something bad to his face in Aerugian, and since he did not understand her, she could always use the excuse that she was still not used to always speaking in Amestrian.

Aya stumbled out the door, she cursed under her breath. The tails of the military pants caught in the door as she closed it behind her. She sighed in annoyance, pulling it loose.

Walking down the sidewalk, she hated the looks that people were giving her. Aya had a deep rooted feeling that it was because she was wearing the damn uniform. A woman she passed gave her a dirty look; her eyes squinty and sharp, her nose scrunched up to look like that of a pig. There was a man, his skin gently wrinkled with old age, holding the hand of a small boy as they walked down the street, who seemed to pull the child away out of caution. The boy, however, was rather friendly. He beamed brightly as he playfully brushed his hand against the fabric of her pants. It was no secret that the military had a bad reputation.

Thoughts passed through her mind, drifting in and out like they were being carried on a current. She wished that she could focus on something. It was irritating that she could not finish any of her thoughts anymore. There was so much that she had to give her attention to at any given time, leaving no time for any single thought.

First to wash up on shore that was her mind were images of Alphonse. Aya knew that she liked him too much for her own good. Whether that was good or bad, she was unsure. Maybe it was a bad thing that she thought about him so often. Did he even notice her? She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, reminding herself that it was best not to get mad at herself before she met up with Mustang.

She began climbing the steps to Central Command. Rays of sunlight beat down on her cheeks; Aya could feel her skin slowly turning redder. It was sad that she had somehow managed to stay as pale as a ghost. She ducked into the shade of the lobby, a gust of cool air washed over her skin as she let the door close behind her. One of the receptionists behind the front desk smiled at her, only turning to gossip to her partner once Aya walked down the left corridor. Even within the military people were saying things about her. She wanted to spin around and scream at them, although managed to restrain herself.

Aya found the Fuhrer's office in the same place as always, in the far back of the building facing the courtyard. It was a beautiful spot, and a shame that Mustang could not see it. She knew it was not the original office, and wondered if he had it moved before he became blind. Aya was yet to hear that story. Fuhrer Mustang sat behind his desk, his hands propped up in front of his mouth by his elbows. His raven hair had fallen lazily over his grey eyes. It was one of the few times that she had seen him without Hawkeye by his side.

"Good morning, sir," she greeted, using a false coating of peppiness to spice up her tone of voice. "Well, afternoon now, Major Hawkeye said it was alright to show up a little late. She wrote that you did not have much planned for today while she was gone." Aya stood directly before his desk, her arms stiff at her sides as she waited for her first order.

"Good morning, Aya," he mumbled. Not that she was any good at reading his eyes, but she could have sworn she detected depression masking his face. "It is quite amusing that you still have not realized I am the one telling Hawkeye what to write on those little notes you find on the table every morning. Hawkeye, not that she has anything against you, could honestly care less about whatever you do. It was not her idea to keep you around, she was actually against it."

"No offense, sir," Aya sneered, addressing him promptly, "but I will continue to think that Hawkeye is writing them. It is easier to follow their orders when I like the person they are coming from. If I accept that you write them, I am never going to get anything done." She beamed a sugar-coated smile, one that would be sickly sweet, despite him being unable to see it.

He sighed. "Harsh honesty," Fuhrer Mustang mused. "You sound like Edward. I suppose I have to let you get away with it – this time only. I would not be so blithe either if I were in your situation."

"Thank you," the teenager returned. A sense of satisfaction swept through her as she realized she was probably able to get away with whatever she wanted the rest of the day.

"Anyways," he cut in, slicing through the end of her words. "I would like you to drive me to the cemetery today. As soon as possible, actually. I have someone to see."

Aya nodded. She was quick to realize that he was meeting someone deceased. Possibly a parent, possibly an old friend; although, to her, Fuhrer Mustang was too young to know anyone outside of his family that had passed away. Then again, he was in the military…that gives plenty of opportunity for such circumstances. "But, sir," she protested, "I can't drive."

A low chuckle slipped through his slightly parted lips. "A sixteen-year-old that doesn't know how to drive, if the teens in this country heard that one," he smirked, his voice slowly fading away. "I am still the Fuhrer; there are plenty of drivers willing to take us both. It is simply required that you accompany me."

"Of course," said Aya. She hesitated for a moment, trying to recall what Hawkeye did. She did not have to hold Mustang's hand to guide him down the hallways, so Aya was obviously not supposed to do that. The major did, however, bark directions at him as to where to step and such. She bit her lip as she watched the Fuhrer rise from his seat. "Two steps either direction, sir."

"Thank you," he murmured, stepping beside her.

"Um…Just stay close, alright? It's a fairly straight corridor, I don't think that you'll get lost." Aya turned for the door, smoothly ushering him into the hallway. She walked slowly towards the lobby, making sure her footsteps were echoing loudly enough for him to pick up on.

"Ask for a car," Mustang instructed sharply, blankly staring ahead of him.

Aya turned towards the woman behind the desk who had been whispering about her. "Please get a car and driver here for the Fuhrer," she snapped.

"Right away," stuttered the receptionist. She picked up the telephone just to the right of her hand and dialed a number. She mumbled directions into the receiver before hanging up. "The car will be around in a minute."

She stepped back to Mustang's side, watching the curb far below the Command Center's steps for the car to pull around. When one finally arrived, Aya began to instruct him on where to step – growing extremely careful when they were climbing down the cement stairs. She had to open the car door for him as well, before sliding into the backseat herself. Fuhrer Mustang told the driver where to go, Central Memorial Grounds, and they were off.

Aya stared out the window at the passed the streets. Her entire body was set on edge around him, she was nervous to do or say anything. Every so often, she would glance over her shoulder at the Fuhrer. He wore the same, monotonous blank expression that he always did.

"And here I thought that teenage girls weren't able to shut up," Mustang mused. Aya jumped, startled. "You don't want to disappoint, do you?"

She turned her nose to the air. "I see no problem with it," Aya sniffed. "I never have actually gone along with what people expect of me, unless I thought of it myself first." That was a partial lie. While it was true that she did not like to go along with the crowd, her automail arm was the screaming truth that it was not always the case. It had been Aiame's idea to go out sailing that day…

"You do not sound so sure of that," he observed.

"You can't see, I am not going to tell you," she replied.

Fuhrer Mustang turned to her, and she was sure if he could, he would be glaring. "I do not need to hear that from you," he growled. "I have heard that enough to last my lifetime."

"Fine… I have automail. The only reason I have it is because I went along with what a friend told me to do even though I thought it was a bad idea," she explained. "I would never tell her that. She feels bad enough over what happened."

"Bad enough that she would travel to Amestris and learn to become an automail engineer?" he guessed.

"I believe you already know the answer to that."

The car stopped abruptly. They were parked in front of the open iron gates leading the cemetery. Aya slid out of the car and assisted Fuhrer Mustang step out onto the curb. He walked down the path cutting through the middle of the grounds, his coordination showed that he had been there many times before. She followed him quickly.

"Aya!" Mustang called over his shoulder. He had finally stopped in front of a grave. She stepped back in surprise; he had nearly screamed her ear off.

"I'm right here," she sighed.

"OH! Oh," he whispered. He turned to the headstone in front of his feet. "Tell me what the name is."

She glanced down. Her stomach churned as the realization that she was standing over rows of caskets hit her. Aya stuttered as she read the name engraved in the stone.

"Maes Hughes."

There was a pause between them. Mustang's head fell low.

"You are dismissed," he muttered.

Aya turned swiftly on her heels back to the car, slowly walked away from him. She reached the car, her entire body overwhelmed with sadness. As she slid into the backseat, she did not remove her eyes from the Fuhrer. She could have sworn that she saw him crying. Her thoughts were disrupted by the trilling chimes of a telephone ring. Aya jumped again.

"There's a phone in here?" she demanded, her automail hand placed over her heart in shock.

"Yes, of course," the driver – a young, male sergeant with shaggy blind hair – replied. "This is the Fuhrer's car, after all." He picked up the phone off the dashboard and held it to his ear, saluting whoever was on the other end of the line. Aya's Amestrian was still shaky; she did not comprehend what he was saying. "Well, yes, sir, this is the Fuhrer's car." A pause. "No, he is out at the moment. I do not know how long he will be." Another pause. "Yes, his assistant is here." The sergeant turned to look over the seat at Aya. "Are you Eye-ya Ak-uh-mat-soo?"

He sounded like an elementary student trying to sound out her name. "Aya Akamatsu," she corrected politely. "Yes, I am." Aya was handed the phone. She waited until she heard the other person's voice.

"Aya…?" Edward asked slowly.

"Edo!" she exclaimed excitedly. "This means I have connections to the outside world again! Woot!"

"Of course you do," he assured. Ed sounded confused, like this phone call was no big deal.

"Why did you call?" Aya asked.

"I wanted to yell at Mustang for…things," he explained. "But talking to you is even better. I have something to ask you."

Her heart began beating rapidly in her chest. She knew that this would not be any special question; she should not get her hopes up. She told herself that it was nothing. "Yes?" Secretly, Aya was still hoping that he was going to ask if she wanted to go back with him and Alphonse.

"Erm…I need to be a gentleman about this but I don't know her parents so you are the one I have to ask…" he trailed off for a moment. "What would you say…if I wanted to…ask Aiame to marry me?"

Aya froze. Seemingly at once, images of Aiame in a white ball gown and Ed in a suit flashed through her mind. Along with that were pictures of dresses for herself, music, pretty red roses, and even Alphonse in a suit snuck in. "What do you mean 'what would I say'?" she echoed. "I say hell yeah!"

He chuckled. "Great," Ed sighed. "I'm glad I have that off my chest."

Though she remained on the phone, Aya was silent. She was happy for them, that was a given. But she could not honestly say that she was not a little jealous. Why did Aiame's love-life suddenly take an interesting spin? Why was she being noticed? It was not even legal for her to be married yet; she was underage!

"Aya…are you alright?"

"I am fine," she assured. "But, Aiame is not legal to be married yet. At least not in Aerugo, I don't know about here in Amestris. She is only seventeen, you know."

"I know. I was at least going to wait until her birthday."

"That's only a month away," Aya pointed out.

Edward sounded shocked. "I could have sworn that she mentioned it was at least two!"

"Yeah, I was there. And that was a month ago."

"Ah…"

"Yes. So, have fun with the proposal." She assumed that she would still be working for Mustang at that time, so there was no point in saying that she would see him then.

"Thank you. Bye, Aya."

Aya handed the phone back to the driver without uttering another word.

Aiame...and Edward…were going to get married? The thought was still hard to process.

* * *

**Well…there you have it. I am very sorry that I could not update last weekend, I was out of town with no access to my laptop. You can see that I am obviously not in any mood to be writing about the actual plot, and I apologize for that as well. But this is a story that was supposed to be focusing mainly around romance, so…**

**OH! And to answer Ed'.Kitten's question, no the rating of this story will not change. That review did get quite a laugh out of me; I think it is safe to say you made my day.**

**My final note~ spring break is next week so hopefully I can update enough times to finish this story. We only have a few more chapters to go! Until then, please help a girl make it through her week. It's Wednesday and reviews would be very much appreciated.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Where they prepare to leave for Central and the rational portion of Aiame's brain is on holiday.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

The following day, Aiame spent the afternoon playing card games with Alphonse. Ed had asked them both to stay at the hotel, telling them that it would be easier to finish the mission by himself. Although she did not comment on it out loud, Aiame realized that was exactly what Mustang had wanted. It was quite ridiculous that he would be doing so after all the trouble they went through.

She could not force herself to focus on what she was doing, which was sad. Al was trying to explain the rules of a new Amestrian game her, but Aiame's thoughts were anywhere but the hand of cards before her. She was worried about Edward, wherever he was and whatever he was doing. Her boyfriend – since she insisted on calling him that to everyone except him – never told her what he was up to, which was suspicious, but she managed to let it go. Another character taking up the space in her otherwise cluttered mind was Aya. She could not believe that they let her best friend just run off to Central with Fuhrer Mustang like that, and of course there was the question of whether she was taking care of her automail or not. Aiame uttered a soft sound of acknowledgement, just to reassure Alphonse that she was listening to him. She could not wait for this entire ordeal to be over with.

"You're not listening to me, are you, Aiame?" Alphonse asked. He smiled from his seat across the table from her.

Hearing his words as only mere buzzing, purely background noise, Aiame assumed that he was still talking about the game. "Mm hm," she agreed absentmindedly.

Al chuckled. "Thought so."

"Wait!" Her head shot up, her hazel eyes widening. "What did you just say?"

He broke into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Aiame blushed, biting her lip to hold back a cheesy smile of embarrassment. She had to admit, watching him laugh; he looked like a less cute, younger looking version of Ed. Al had a child-like quality to him that she could not put her finger on. "What are you worried about?" he asked finally.

"Everything," Aiame sighed. "What isn't there to be worrying about right now?"

Alphonse thought about it for a second, realizing that she was right. From her point of view, he could not see how she was able to make it through the day sane. His brother was out who-knows-where and doing whatever Mustang asked him to get the Philosopher's Stone. Her best friend was practically taken hostage in Central. She had her automail training to get back to, Winry is probably furious with her by now. "I'm sure that Brother is alright," he assured her, knowing it was the only thing he could comfort her with.

"God, I hope so," she grumbled, sitting back on the couch. She seemed to sink into the cushions. "If anything happens to him, I swear–"

"Nothing is going to happen to him. Brother knows how to handle himself, at least that's what I think."

It was the same thing that Aiame had been told time and time again by the younger Elric brother, and although she knew that he was only trying to help, it was not making her feel any better. "Thanks, Al," she told him.

"He told me that he likes when you worry about him, you know," he mused. "He says it makes you more human."

Aiame nodded. "He's mentioned the same thing to me," she smiled. "I somehow end up reminding myself of that whenever I'm not around him."

A low chuckled slipped through his lips once more.

"I'm sorry," she apologized quickly. "I have a feeling that you really don't want to talk about this, especially not with me."

Alphonse shook his head. "Don't apologize. It doesn't bother me. It's nice to talk about something new once in a while, even if it is a tad girly." He grinned at her. "Usually my conversations consist of taking whatever verbal abuse May is giving me during our alkahestry lessons or about alchemy with my brother. It's sad he can't perform it anymore…"

"He never told me that he could not use alchemy anymore," she remarked. That seemed like a strange thing to keep from someone you cared about, someone you loved – Edward had told her himself. "All he said was that he was able to regain your body and his arm with a Philosopher's Stone."

"He told you that?" Al asked. Brother had never mentioned he had told her about attempting to bring their mother back, let alone what had happened after that. It did not seem like him to go around spitting out pity stories. Aiame nodded. "Well, I think the first thing you should know is that is a lie."

Her jaw dropped to the floor. She folded her arms over her chest. "Why the hell would he lie about that?" Aiame demanded, her words flickering with rage like flames. "Ed certainly does not need pity and that story really made me feel terrible for you two!"

"No, no, that part was true, I promise," he assured, his hands flying up defensively. Of course he went and said the wrong thing… "But he did not regain my body with a Stone, and certainly not to get back his arm. You see, we researched the Stone for years and we found out…some things that we were completely opposed to if we were going to use the Stone. That's why I am learning alkahestry with May. We thought it could be used as an alternative but it's taking much longer than we hoped."

That must have sucked. Aiame did not spend much time with her in Xing, but she heard from Aya that May was an annoying little brat. She figured that her friend had been over reacting when she told her that, but she had nothing to go by to prove her wrong. "I'm confused. What did he use to bring you back then?"

"He gave up his alchemic ability," he answered.

Aiame was a bit star-struck for a moment. All she could think of was how sweet that was and how close they must be. She had assumed that they weren't very close – somewhat on the lines like her and her own brother – since Al picked up and moved to Xing. "That's sweet," she whispered, her eyes locked at the cards in her hand. "I don't think I could handle anything like that…"

"Says the girl who dedicated her career to her best friend," remarked Alphonse.

"That's completely different," Aiame protested, not wanting him to get the idea that what she did compared to Edward in the slightest.

"Hardly," he returned.

"We are going to drop this conversation now," she insisted.

He raised his eyebrows. "Fine, fine."

She placed the hand of cards onto the table. A strong sense of sickness swept over her. Aiame hid her face in her hands, realizing that the sickness was a stronger sense of guilt than she had ever experienced before. She was worrying again. What if Edward got hurt doing finishing his assignment today? What then? She groaned, "I cannot wait for all of this to be over."

Even if Alphonse was the best when it came to consoling someone, he chose this particular situation to keep his mouth shut. He simply smiled reassuringly, as if to agree with her.

The apartment door flew open. "You will not believe what just happened!" Edward exclaimed, throwing his coat onto the hook on the wall above his head. If Aiame had not known better, she would have described his entrance as 'skipping'.

"Edo!" she exclaimed, her eyes brightening with her smile.

It was clear that he must have been in an insanely good mood; Ed did not scold her for calling him that hated pet-name. "All I had to do was sit down with Rose – which was not an easy thing to arrange considering that she still hates my guts, but it wasn't like I was so excited to see her either – and make her see reason," Edward explained, stumbling over his words. He sounded like he could not form the words in his mind, let alone get them across to Aiame. He was grinning from ear to ear. "Of course, I had to lay on the reasons for pity a tad thick…"

"Wonderful!" Aiame beamed. She had little idea what he was talking about, especially concerning this 'Rose' girl, but she was too excited to see him happy to really care at the moment.

"You don't think Aya will mind if I threw her into the mix as well, do you?" he asked. "'And there's a poor girl in Central being held hostage until I give the Fuhrer the Philosopher's Stone. I hardly know her, its making me feel even guiltier that she is suffering so much because of me.'"

"I don't mind very much," she approved. "Just don't tell her that you said all that, she'll be offended."

"I'll keep that in mind," Edward promised. "Anyways! The girl is so irritating. But I got the Philosopher's Stone and that's what matters." He held up the gleaming red Stone for show.

It was not so much an episode of sudden realization rather than common knowledge when Aiame remembered that she would be stuck on yet another train ride to Central within the next day. She hated being crammed into those stuffy compartments, even if she was practically alone in a small room with Edward for an extended amount of time. She thought that she might have been able to tolerate it if Alphonse was not there, but he was so sweet to her that she could never ask for him to do something like ditch them. "Yes," Aiame agreed quietly, "that is what matters."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ed asked warily, lowering his golden eyes. "Did Aya call you or something…?"

"Looking at you like what?" she echoed, entirely oblivious. "And, no, I doubt that Aya even knows that I'm with you. What reason would she have to call anyways?"

"I don't know," he lied casually. Ed studied her face for a long moment, only continuing when he was certain she had believed him. Across from her, he caught the sharp, mischievous look that his brother was giving him. Alphonse knew, but then again, why shouldn't he? "We can head on to Central in the morning, if that's alright with both of you."

Aiame groaned, "Might as well get it over with. I will go start packing…" She lifted herself out of the chair, which was exceptionally difficult considering that she was slouched over and had sunk into the cushions. As she stepped around the couch, Edward grabbed hold of her arm lightly. The gesture had thrown her off guard, and even more so when his lips were pressed against her cheek.

She felt hazy for a moment, lost in the sheer bliss running throughout her. Strands of golden hair brushed against her forehead, reminding her to snap out of it. It was when Ed pulled away that Aiame realized he had missed; the kiss was in a fairly strange place, just beside the corner of her mouth. Although it may have been sweeter on the lips, she was content with it all the same.

"Um…?"

Edward smiled (Aiame could barely force herself to admit it, but it was one of his heart-wrenching, make her spin into a fangirl tizzy sort of smiles.) "Thank you."

"What the hell did I do?" she asked, unable to help her confusion. "I sat in a hotel room all day while you kicked ass and accomplished your assignment."

"Yes, but you _were _here," he reminded her. "It's one of those 'I am yours and you are mine' types of things. It was just nice to know."

Her face fell flat. She stared at him blankly. "Way to go, Ed," Aiame remarked dully, the amount of sarcasm in her voice enough to surprise even herself. "Make me sound like a useless housewife. Totally makes me feel good about myself."

He laughed, his smile unbroken. "One of the most talented, toughest, smartest women I have ever met was a housewife," Edward chuckled. "I don't see what's so bad about it."

"You left out beautiful, you know," she muttered under her breath, pulling her arm away from his grasp. Aiame only realized afterwards how self-centered that sounded. "I mean, not that I think I am or anything, but it's a great way to compliment a girl…"

"If I called Teacher 'beautiful', her husband would have kicked my ass," he interrupted her ramblings. "But, yes, Aiame, you are beautiful."

She somehow managed to restrain from blushing. "Thanks…" With that, Aiame darted off into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"Ah, young love," Alphonse sighed, still seated on the couch. He smirked at his brother.

"Because you would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Ed shot back at him teasingly, rolling his eyes.

"It's funny," the younger Elric mused, catching his brother's attention just before he was able to duck into his bedroom. "I always thought when I was going to get a sister-in-law, it was going to be Winry."

If he had been drinking something, he would have spit it out. "I still fell for the gear-head," Edward remarked coolly, "so maybe that means you were half right."

"There is no such thing as 'half right'," Al corrected him. "May said that, not me."

"Hm. Maybe you should stop quoting May all the time, especially when we get back into Central. Aya won't like it."

Blush dusted Alphonse's cheeks. "I know how to watch my tongue better than you do, at least."

"Speaking of, I was almost ready to call Ling yesterday to ask if we could have the wedding in Xing," Ed informed, completely ignoring his brother's statement.

"That doesn't sound like her at all," said Al, assuming Ed was talking about throwing it at the palace. He pictured an extravagant bash. "I don't think she'd like it very much."

"Then what about Risembool?" he suggested.

Al nodded. "That's much better. But shouldn't you be talking about this with her instead of me? She hasn't even said 'yes' yet."

Edward's heard sank to the pit of his stomach (it took a while to get there, but there is one) when he was reminded of that. It was like he had completely forgotten that he had not even asked her. "The moment we get to Risembool, I will ask her."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Aiame had her ear pressed against the bedroom door. The brothers' voices were slightly muffled, but she was able to hear their conversation. She had been tempted to listen ever since she had heard Al say the words 'sister-in-law' and had been drawn in since. However, the next words she heard were 'gear-head' and 'Winry'.

'Sister-in-law', 'gear-head', 'Winry'; Aiame had formed those words into a sentence before she could stop herself.

She knelt frozen against the door, not daring to move because if she did, she knew that she would not be able to keep from sobbing like a helpless little girl. The rational portion of her brain had been knocked out cold by the shocking discovery and was not able to remind her that she was the one Edward had kissed only a thousand times, that she was the one Edward told he loved. The only thing that Aiame could think was:

Edward wanted to marry Winry.

**There you have it. I meant to finish this last weekend, but I have been sick since Sunday so you will please have to excuse me. Also, sorry to the real Aiame, I am not waiting to post this until morning when you can read it ;)**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed this last moment decision of a twist in the plotline. I know I did. And know I have the perfect proposal in my mind for Ed and Aiame…**

**Comments are love, people! And they make me update a hell of a lot faster.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

**Where Edward finds Aiame the perfect ring.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Edward had said that he loved her, not that he was in love with her. Aiame saw a huge gap between the meanings of those two statements. Like, she loved automail and anatomy and drawing, but did that mean she wanted to date any of those things? No.

Thankfully, Aiame's fear of Edward and Winry was short-lived. She spent the remainder of the night locked in her bedroom, haunted by the conversation she had overheard between the brothers. Eventually, she tucked herself into bed and somehow managed to fall asleep.

Her sleep was plagued by nightmares. They followed one after another, bombing her mind with frightening images like never-ending fireworks. The first – and one of the most horrifying – was one of her sitting in Winry's bedroom, watching her spin around in a princess-like, white ball gown. All the blonde mechanic could do was gush about how excited she was for her wedding day. Aiame's throat burned dryly and her chest felt like it was about to collapse in on itself. She was envious; she wanted nothing more at that moment for it to be her. Aiame awoke with a thin layer of sweat coating her skin, and her heart was still pounding a thunder storm in her chest.

She had of course realized how stupid she was to think that the fragments of conversation she had heard were anything important. However, she still did not put the puzzle pieces together; Aiame did not even consider the fact that they had been talking about her. It may be early, much earlier than she would ever normally find herself awake at, but Aiame was exceptionally dull this particular morning.

Aiame crept from her bedroom, dressed appropriately in her most comfortable traveling clothes, and across the narrow hall to the quarters the brothers shared. She pushed the door inward, just wide enough to poke her head into the room. The bedroom was black as pitch.

"Edward!" she hissed through her teeth at the lump in the bed directly across from the door. Rays of faint light shown golden hair, leading her to assume it was Ed. "Wake up!"

The lump under the comforter shifted. Edward grumbled, buried his face against his pillow and then mumbled something again.

"Edward!" she repeated fiercely.

"What?" he snapped.

"I'm going to leave now, okay?"

He bolted upright. His golden orbs were wide with shock. "What do you mean 'leaving'?" Ed demanded. "We aren't leaving for Central until this afternoon."

She sighed. "I know. But I don't think it will go over well with the Fuhrer is I show up at his office when he thinks he deported me," Aiame explained. It was a legitimate excuse, and probably the safest bet to get away with.

"Where are you planning to go?"

"Risembool. Where did you have in mind?"

"…Good point." Ed rubbed sleep from his eyes. "Al, Aya and I will meet with you there as soon as we can."

Her face fell. She was hoping that he would offer to come with her. Aiame decided that as long as she could either keep her eyes on Ed or keep him away from Winry, she would be happy. "Alright," she murmured. "Say 'hello' to Aya for me, okay?"

"Sure…" His voice was groggy.

Slowly, she pulled out of the darkness. "Goodbye," she whispered, closing the door. All that could be heard was the rustling of bed sheets. Aiame assumed that Ed had returned to sleep when:

"I love you, Aiame."

Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell. She had been crazy to think that was going to happen in a million years. Aiame smirked to herself.

If she did not have as strong of common sense as she did, Aya would have woken up early and boasted to Fuhrer Mustang how Ed and Al were coming later today to give him th

* * *

e Philosopher's Stone and take her back to Risembool. She had never been so utterly excited to see two people she hardly knew before in her life. Knowing that they were on their way only seemed to slow down time, however. She was growing anxious simply standing over Mustang's shoulder in his office all day while he had conferences with several of his top generals.

When the office was finally cleared, Mustang spoke up. Aya was a little surprised, considering that they never speak casually to each other. He only ever gave her orders. "You seem a bit antsy today," he mused. "I could hear you fidgeting the entire meeting."

"Sorry, sir," she apologized, promptly addressing him at the end of her remark as she had grown so accustomed to doing. Aya was entirely for the up keeping of modern languages, but such formalities at the end of all of her sentences were becoming quite a pest. She may be at the point where she added them without thought, but it was irritating to hear herself repeat it time and time again.

"Fullmetal called you this morning, I presume? Otherwise you would not be jumping at the sound of footsteps down the hallway or a knock at my door. When did he say he would be arriving? I have to plan for messes such as him."

Aya grinned. "Sometime this afternoon," she replied, easily hiding the smile in her voice. "Al slept in late so they had to catch a later train. He said there would be several stops in New Optain and…some other eastern city that I don't recall before they reach Central. It could take longer than usual."

Mustang sighed. "I suppose that's alright."

"If it had Ed that had slept late, would you be as lenient about this?" Aya asked curiously.

"Probably not," he chuckled. The Fuhrer turned to look over his shoulder in her general direction, as if he could see her. "I know that you are excited to be leaving with the Elric brothers today, but I have to ask. Would you truly be opposed to returning here to work for me in Central? It would certainly not be as easy as the position you have held here for the past week but it would not be asking you to head out to any battles as a soldier."

There were more important things that she had to worry about than getting a job. While the question did not exactly surprise Aya, she definitely did not know how she wanted to answer. She thought of how she could tell Edward and Alphonse, they would probably be mad at her if she accepted due to the fact that they hated the Fuhrer – or at least Ed did. Aiame would also be a problem; she would most likely never stand for it. Her parents would never stand for it, even if they spent most of the time away from her during the year working for their own government. Natani would be worried sick as well, seeing as she had hardly recovered from automail surgery. There were about a thousand others that played a part in this decision. Finally, she had had enough of the voices swirling in her head.

_I care way too much about what other people are expecting of me, _she thought with a sour scowl, _I have not even considered the personal pros and cons of his offer…_

"I will give you the next week to think it over," Fuhrer Mustang told her.

"I'm sorry, but what _exactly _would I be doing if I decided to work for you?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Essentially the same thing you are doing now; assisting me and keeping track of the paperwork I will have to be approving. Now, I know that someone as bright as you are probably does not see much appeal in a job like that but for anything else we would have to test you to become an official citizen of Amestris, which might take some time," he explained. "After that, you would practically be set for a position in any department."

She had been completely turned away from the idea when he had told her that she would continue to do the same thing. Aya may have managed to show up every day with a smile on her face, but she knew that the job was only temporary and she was able to make it through the day knowing that. Of course, she did plan on moving to Amestris anyways, so if she became a citizen to get a job doing something else for Mustang, it would simple make her life a hell of a lot easier. Aya thought that she could be on investigative team or something, which was an interesting career that required out-of-the-box thinking.

"I would like that very much, sir," Aya beamed. "But I will still be leaving for the week; it will give me time to explain this to my parents…"

He nodded. "Of course," the Fuhrer approved.

"FUHRER MUSTANG, SIR!" a booming voice called from down the hallway. Even if the man should have been muffled by the walls and closed doors separating them, his voice carried into the office like rumbling thunder. A huge, brawny man in a military uniform burst into the office. A blonde curl sprung from his head. Pink sparkles flittered in the air around him. Aya knew his face, but was having trouble with the name. All she knew was that Ed knew him…

Mustang had snapped back to sit looking forward in his chair. "Yes, Armstrong?"

"Edward and Alphonse Elric have arrived in Central and have requested to see you immediately," he announced, his deep voice seemingly reverberating the walls surrounding him. Aya's heart leapt for joy in her chest as she watched the brothers step into the office, lugging heavy suitcases behind them.

"Thanks, major!" Alphonse saluted the man sharply. "We appreciate it!"

"Alphonse, my dear boy, the art of moving up in military ranks has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations! I am now a colonel!" Déjà vu.

Edward sighed. "We know, Colonel, congratulations." He turned and looked suspiciously at Aya. "Shouldn't it be your job to find us outside of Central Command and take us back in here? Or have you been slacking off and not doing anything around here for almost two weeks?" Armstrong slipped from the room.

"Pfft!" Aya spat, rolling her eyes. "I am a personal assistant, not a secretary, Edo," she corrected.

"I was unaware that there was a difference," he informed. Beside him, Alphonse bit his lip to keep from laughing. Ed casually strolled to the front of Mustang's desk, reached in his pocket and placed a Philosopher's Stone directly in front of him. "Well, there you go. I'm taking Aya now."

"I don't have any of my things with me, though," the young blonde protested, watching as Mustang reached forward to collect the Stone. Since the moment she arrived in Central, Aya had found herself mesmerized by how the Fuhrer seemed to have sharp enough instincts that he was able to write and do other tasks with his hands since he could not see them.

Alphonse spoke up, "We will stop by wherever you were staying later. Brother says there is an errand that we have to run first."

They bid goodbyes to the Fuhrer. Edward had to slide in a comment to Aya about how she sounded much too nice to him for a man who had practically been holding her captive for the past two weeks; he was curious why. Al scolded him for sounding untrusting of her. She was scared, and not to mention reluctant, to tell them that she had taken a permanent position working for him. Aya decided it would be best to keep that bit of information to herself for a while longer.

After almost an hour of walking down the streets of Central, getting lost numerous times, and having to listen to the brothers bicker the entire time ("I know where I'm going, Al!" "No you don't, Brother. The jewelers' is down the other street…" "Shut up!") The trio arrived at their destination: the Central Jewelry. Stepping up to the building, Aya felt like a little kid again, peering into the windows of her favorite toy story as she begged her mother to just let her peek inside for five minutes. Only now, instead of dreaming of the newest dollhouse or set of paints, she was picturing her own wedding. The illusion did not last very long; Aya was pulled from her fantasy by Alphonse tapping her shoulder lightly.

"Maybe we should follow Brother inside," he suggested, gesturing to the glass door. They could see Edward inside, helplessly trying to push through his confusion as he scanned the glass cases of rings, necklaces and bejeweled pins. Al smiled down on her, shattering her heart into a million tiny pieces. Somehow, it reminded her that he had been the one in her daydream of her wedding. The images struck her like lightning, causing her to realize that she would have to put up with her automail clashing with her dress. Aya managed to hide her depression well as she followed Al inside.

Being inside the small shop was even looking in through the window, if that was possible. All four walls were black, along with the floor, and rows of glass cases filled the store until the very back where a small granite counter sat. The jewelry inside the cases seemed to be arranged by the gems embedded in the pieces; the lighter stones were in the front cases and grew darker as she walked further into the store.

"Looking for something specific?" a blonde girl standing behind the counter, dressed in black to match the walls, asked Edward. Her voice was sickly sweet. Aya thought that was a stupid question; it was as if she was asking if he had just wandered into a jewelry store for no good reason. "Or should I say someone special?"

"An engagement ring," Ed mumbled, leaning over closer to examine one of the pieces inside the glass case closest to the door. Although there was a clear line of sight to observe which ring he was interested in, Aya was a bit busy picturing Al surprising her with one of the rings she saw. It would probably make her life if he did. The blonde woman kept talking; Edward seemed to tune her out though.

Aya could see the confusion glazing Edward's golden eyes. It was painfully obvious that he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. She considering giving him advice, find one that he thought Aiame would like and continue from there, but decided against it considering it would mean more to the redhead if he figured this one out on his own. Ed was a genius, after all.

"This one," he announced after a long moment of wearing his 'thinking face', pressing his figure to the glass just above the ring. "It's perfect."

"Excellent choice," the blonde woman approved as she stepped in to look at the ring, beaming like an artificial idiot. She reminded Aya of a Barbie Doll. She unlocked the sliding glass door with a key she had been keeping in her pocket and placed the accessory in a small, red velvet box.

Aya followed Alphonse back onto the sidewalk outside the shop, leaving Ed inside to pay for the ring. Even if it wasn't hers, she was very happy that Edward had found one worth keeping. The older Elric brother stepped outside merely moments later, struggling to hide the grin on his face.

"Can I see the ring?" Aya asked shyly.

Edward held out the velvet box to her, flipping the lid upright. A ring of white gold sat in the center of a plush black pillow, gleaming in the sunlight. A string of diamonds covered half of the band. Aya's gaze shifted to Ed's face, his eyes lit up like the evening sun.

"I think you might kill her with that," she breathed. "Aiame is going to go into a shock-induced panic and spend the night of your proposal in the hospital."

"I take it that I made a good decision then," Ed remarked proudly.

"Damn right you did," Aya exclaimed, meaning that in more ways than one.

**Ok, so I didn't get as much writing done this weekend as I wanted/planned, but I still have the next chapter halfway finished which is a good thing. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, by the way. It means a lot. Comments are love~**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

**Where Al and Aya spend a long night in a cramped train compartment.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Using their combined sneaking skills, the Elric brothers and Aya were able to slip into the Fuhrer's mansion without Mustang knowing. However, that did not mean that the dozens of guards lining the perimeter of the house were oblivious to the teens. It took all of ten minutes to gather all of Aya's belongings and get the hell out of the house – thankfully Aya had never unpacked her things.

By the time they found a taxi and arrived at the train station, it was nearing eight p.m. The trio had to sprint to the ticket booths the moment they stepped inside the station. Edward had to use his charismatic womanizing powers – that he did not actually have – on the woman behind the desk who almost refused to give them their tickets. It was a lucky thing that Ed's persuasion skills were much better than his ability to smooth talk the ladies. The brothers were accustomed to fast traveling and were on the train within the next two minutes. Aya, however, was not as lucky. The final whistle blew and she was still standing on the edge of the boarding platform, chasing after the open door. If Alphonse had not nearly yanked her automail out of its port to grab her off of her feet, she would have remained in Central for the night.

Breathless, Aya hauled her suitcase and backpack down the narrow hallway of private compartments. Ed and Al had already comfortably adjusted to their small compartment and had tucked their belongings under the benches jutting out from the wall. She could not even lie to herself by saying she did not care that it was not as welcoming as the Fuhrer's train compartment. When she looked past the material aspect of the room, Aya decided that it was a thousand times better than the compartments reserved for the high-up military officials. Why? Because she had the opportunity to sit next to Alphonse Elric rather than Fuhrer Mustang.

She plopped into the empty space beside Al, shoving her suitcase under her seat. "Thanks for that," she sighed. "I obviously can't keep after myself."

"It was one mistake, no big deal," he assured. Alphonse shifted to face her. "Your Amestrian has improved amazingly, by the way. It's nearly flawless."

"Thank you." Aya was not as talented as Aiame; she could not keep herself from blushing madly. "Fuhrer Mustang hired me one of the best language tutors that he could find. She even taught me modern grammar and sentence structure so I do not sound like an old, hoity-toity language freak." She smirked to herself, knowing that she really was a hoity-toity language freak. It ended up being harder than expected to find middle ground between old and new tongues.

"That's great," Al exclaimed happily. It astounded Aya that he was practically an impenetrable wall of pure cheerfulness 24/7. She was sure that he did not want to continue talking about this, but it was like he refused to admit it.

"Edward, how long will it take for us to get to Risembool?" Aya asked, glancing over Al's shoulder at the sleeping blonde on the bench across the compartment.

Ed raised his head from its resting place on the window. "All night at least," he replied. "We are making stops around midnight in Rush Valley and Dublith before traveling into the eastern region of the country. If we are lucky, we will be there by sunrise."

Aya bit back a groan. "Lovely," she sighed, leaning her head back to rest against the wall.

Time passed slowly. Edward fell asleep soon enough after the end of that brief conversation; Aya had to think that he slept enough for two. Al tried to fall asleep as well, but kept shifting and groaning and staring out into the hallway blankly. Seeing it to be the only way to pass time, she too attempted to fall asleep. Her neck was bent in an extremely awkward position; she would surely be struck with pain once she awoke again. That would not be her only problem when she woke up. Maybe it was the fact that she knew she was falling asleep beside Al, but Aya tossed and turned more than normal during this sleep. She awoke to a more than a crick in her neck.

When her green eyes fluttered open, Aya fell into a dizzy spell and could only see stars circling her head. As the swirling sparkles cleared from her vision, she nearly jumped out of her skin. She was lying face-up, staring into Alphonse's dark golden irises. It took her a minute to gather herself and realize that she was partially lying on his lap. That was about the same moment that she snapped. Aya bolted upright, accidently hitting her forehead on the rounded tip of his chin.

"Omigosh, I am so, so, so sorry," she rambled, scooting over into the edge of the bench. Aya curled up in the corner of the compartment, avoiding looking over her shoulder at him. "That must've been really uncomfortable. Why didn't you wake me up? I would have moved…"

"I didn't mind," Al murmured, shrugging his shoulders. "I wasn't going to wake you up, either. If one of us can get some sleep, that's good enough with me." He smiled softly.

Aya drew in a deep breath. She was embarrassed, but his reasoning seemed to say that she should not have been. "I'm sorry," she apologized again. "You should have pushed me onto the floor, Alphonse. I wouldn't have cared." She insisted on sounding guilty, but she really knew that she would have cared. She would have been pissed, and then a little heartbroken since he was Al…

"Please, just don't worry about it. I don't care," he assured.

She did not want to argue further; if he was letting her off of the hook for this, Aya planned to let him be. "Alright…" she trailed off, resting her head on the compartment wall.

"Do you mind if I say something?" asked Al cautiously.

"I suppose not…" Aya bit her lip, expecting something completely terrible to come out of his mouth.

"You seem much more outgoing around Aiame," he informed. Al was actually trying to say so much more, he just did not know how to say it kindly to her face. He wondered if she was mad at the automail mechanic for allowing her to go off and work for the Fuhrer, or if she was simply nervous that the reason she was in this foreign country was not there with her.

Aya stretched her legs across the compact compartment. She glanced to her side, catching his molten golden gaze. Aya felt her heart melting inside her chest given a look like his. "Yeah, I guess I am," she replied. "What are you trying to say by that?"

"That you might not like my brother or I…"

Oh, God, that was not what she needed to hear. Aya was shocked that not being as outgoing as before suddenly translated to the fact that she did not like him. That was definitely not the case. "Of course I like you, Al," she assured. Her cheeks turned flame red immediately after the words escaped her mouth. "I like Ed, too. If I didn't, I wouldn't let him propose to my best friend."

"It is about time that Brother decided to settle down," Al remarked. "It has been so long since I have seen him so happy. The last time he was this excited over anything was when…"

The story seemed to play out in his eyes, glazed over with what looked like a mix of remembrance of fond memories and what could have possibly been lament. Aya was struggling to assess the expression. She grew even more confused when the gleam in his eyes changed, simply to pure confusion. "What's wrong?" asked Aya.

"Oh, nothing," he assured. "I am just trying to…figure you out, that's all."

She raised her eyebrows cautiously. "What do you mean by that?"

"You aren't like most of the other girls that I know," Al explained. "You are the complete opposite of both May and Winry. Anyone who even remotely matches your personality is twice your age. It's strange."

Aya kept a straight face, but was internally raging. She did not know if she should be insulted by that comment, even though she already knew that it was true. Since she was young, people had always told her that she was mature for her age. Hearing it from Al should not be anything new. Yet, it struck down a piece of her heart, the piece that was telling her she was safe from insults around Alphonse. Not that anyone had said anything about it to her face, but even she could tell that she had been more defensive and stand-offish since she had been equipped with her automail. As much as she liked to think that she did not care what others thought about her, Aya felt more vulnerable with her prosthetic arm. She had set up a barrier that crumbled in Al's presence to easily. "Should I apologize for that?" she asked.

"Of course not," he replied. "I just…I don't know."

"We aren't very good around each other, are we?" Aya sighed. "Neither of us knows what to say to the other. We have such generic topics for conversation. It was much easier in Xing. What did we talk about there?"

Alphonse smirked. "I tried to teach you Amestrian and you smart-mouthed May." Aya blushed furiously, cueing him to continue. "But I don't think that's a bad thing. It's nice to know a girl willing to get her point across with words rather than a wrench to the head."

She slid closer to him, away from the corner. "Aiame isn't _that _violent," she reminded him.

"But Winry is."

Aya giggled. "That's funny; I actually thought that she was very nice."

"She is, when she wants to be. I think that is why Brother didn't grow for so long; he took too many blows to the head." He smiled warmly at her. Al knew that was a complete lie, but he would feel guilty if he had to explain his entire life story to her. That would be the same as asking her to like him out of pity.

She was completely fooled by the beauty of his smile. Aya did not detect that he was lying to her face in the slightest. "He is a whole head taller than I am, at least. I can't picture Edward being all that short, honestly."

"He was, trust me." Alphonse beamed again.

Edward lifted his head from its resting place, pried his eyes open and glared at his younger brother. "Alphonse," he scolded groggily. "You only think that because you were seven feet tall at the time…"

"Seven feet tall?" Aya echoed, watching Ed settled into a light sleep once more. Al was tall, but nowhere near that tall. The younger Elric shrugged. "Sleep talking?" she offered.

"Yeah, he tends to do that," Al answered, lying through his teeth again. He would not be able to sleep later; there is no legitimate reason for him to be lying to her. "Anyways; how was it in Central, other than learning Amestrian?"

Aya sighed. "I suppose it was alright," she replied. "Working for Mustang was not terrible. I mostly checked over his files and paperwork, considering he can't see them. General Hawkeye did the important work. The city itself was lovely, though."

"At least you were not completely miserable, then," Al sighed, relief flooding his mind.

"No, I wasn't. It was enjoyable, for the most part. And not to mention interesting, everything he had to deal with actually required thought. I haven't dealt with that sort of thing in Aerugo," Aya explained. For a split second, she thought of telling him that the Fuhrer had offered her a position working for him. Instead, she decided it would be safer to move the conversation as far away from the military as possible. "I am very excited to return to Risembool, however. It will be much more fun now that I can understand what everyone is saying. And…that you're here, too."

"That's good," said Alphonse. "I am happy to be going home as well."

Since Aya was paying more attention to the way his lips moved when he spoke, she did not notice his hand slide over her exposed metal palm. He held the automail in his hand gently, smiling subtly until she realized. Her green eyes widened and she yanked her hand away, without realizing what she was doing. Aya was, again, self-conscious when it came to her automail. "I'm sorry," she muttered under her breath. "I just don't like…I don't like my automail…"

"It is better than being pitied for missing a limb, isn't it?" he asked. It was the best thing he could think of to say, especially since he had just embarrassed them both. "I won't do that again, I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize. It isn't your fault." Aya continued to ramble, mostly repeating the same thing: "it isn't your fault." Her Amestrian words even began to blend with Aerugian before she came to her senses to stop.

"I will just make it up to you, then." He ducked his head, closing his sentence by pressing his lips against Aya's. The kiss was simple; the two were hardly touching at all. Aya was swept away, she was enthralled.

Ed's snickers from across the compartment were what eventually broke them apart. "About time," he sighed quietly.

From there, silence settled between the trio. The sky grew darker with each passing hour. They did not arrive at the Risembool station until the sun rose again. Without saying, Edward became the bagboy for his brother and Aya, seeing as the two would not look away from each other the entire time. It was a struggle for the former alchemist to simply guide them off of the platform without running into crowds of people. Once they were outside, it was easier. The path leading from the station to their part of town was fairly straight and easy to keep to. Ed did not have much to worry about except seeing Aiame again, excited was an understatement when it came to how he felt. It would have been nice to receive kind words of encouragement from Aya or Alphonse, but they were too busy holding hands to notice anything else in the world.

After cross the entire town to get to the Rockbell's, the large yellow house was a sight for sore eyes. Edward could feel his automail leg falling apart from under him. His racing heartbeat dulled when he remembered that it was still early and Aiame was probably still sleeping. He should just go inside and calm down a bit before rushing up to her and asking her to marry him.

Edward dumped the luggage on the front lawn, flexing his arms to relieve the soreness. He glanced over his shoulder at Al and Aya, who were laughing at whatever one of them had just said. He smiled to himself. It seemed like it had taken long enough for the world to finally fall into place for them.

"Hi, Ed!" Winry whispered fiercely, stepping outside onto the shabby green porch. She was smiling brightly at him. Her low tone of voice cued Edward to think that the rest of the occupants must be sleeping. It was slightly irritating how much of an early riser Winry was. "Just throw everything in the living room. I'm sorry, but Aiame's already in the guest bedroom so that's where you will have to stay."

"No problem, Winry," Ed sighed, lifting the suitcases again. He trudged up the porch steps and slipped inside.

The blonde mechanic's gaze shifted to Alphonse, standing further down the past. Being Winry, she completely blocked out Aya standing beside him. "Alphonse!" she exclaimed excitedly. She leapt off of the porch and just about tackled to poor Elric brother to the ground in a bone-crushing hug.

Aya stared at her in disbelief. Her jaw had about dropped to the floor. "_For God's sake, Arufonsu, how many girls have their hands on you?" _she demanded at the top of her lungs, using Aerugian purposely for the first time in weeks.

Alphonse struggled to push Winry off of him as he got to his feet. "I have no idea what you just said," he whispered, "but I'm sorry." He pecked her cheek.

Winry's face drained of blood. She looked as pale as a porcelain doll. "Oh."

The blond glanced from Al to Winry and back again. "Sorry," she murmured. "I overreact. A lot. I will just go help Ed now…" She scurried up the porch steps.

"Hey, Winry!" Edward called, poking his head out of the doorway. "Do mind if I make myself coffee?"

**Woot! I finally got to write AlxAya! And I got my one-hundredth review! I think I am on a roll this week. I hope that you, readers, enjoyed this seeing as it was a little break from and EdxOC love story. I have just been so excited to write this pairing since the beginning of the story. I might take a little longer to write the next two chapters, since they are the closing of the story. I want to make it as perfect as I possibly can for Aiame – since it is her story. You have been warned.**

**Comments make authors feel good about what they've written. Please, help me out and review so I don't feel like I have completely failed this story.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

**Where…I'm not even going to say it. You should all know what happens.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

"Edward, I am going to kill you."

Ed stared at the redhead in horror. He was quick to learn that every Winry has her wrench, only Aiame's happened to be her sketchpad. She held the notebook with her index finger and thumb, the paper dripping with the coffee that had been spilled over the table. Her eyes were so squinted that he could barely tell her eyes were open at all. She was seething with rage. He knew just by looking at her that Aiame was not looking for any sort of explanation, she was looking for revenge.

"I am so sorry. I didn't meant to spill coffee on your notebook, Aiame," he assured her. Edward rose from his seat at the kitchen table, scooped the sopping dishtowel into his palm and carried it to the sink. He was avoiding her gaze at all costs. "We can get you a new sketch pad, I promise."

In truth, nothing was really Edward's fault. All he had done was set a mug of coffee onto the table. He had not really taken notice of the mechanic's sketchpad sitting just beside his morning drink. Aya, however, was ushered into the room by Winry, who was swamping her questions. Apparently, the blonde mechanic was very curious to see what Aya had to say now that they spoke the same language. As Edward offered her his seat, like the gentleman he was – he honestly just felt sorry that Winry was acting like such a pest around her – and as she stumbled into the chair, Aya knocked over the mug. The chocolaty colored liquid began soaking into the parchment pages of the sketchpad before any one of their reflexes kicked in to pick up the glass.

"That's not the same, Edward!" Aiame exclaimed, slamming her fists down against the slick surface of the table. When she lifted her hands up, her skin had been coated with organic, all-purpose cleaner that had been used to clean the sticky coffee-gone-cold that had begun to dry on the wood. "I won't have all of the drawings I spent so much time on! And I just finished the sketch of my shoes falling off the balcony in Xing! It was in realism, too…"

"I am so sorry," Ed repeated. He turned to face her, his mouth agape with loss of words. Aiame had gone through one of her mood swings, unsurprisingly, and was now burying her face in her hands. Her shoulders were quivering with each gasp she drew in, obviously struggling to get enough air. "Aiame…" He stepped forward, reaching out to place his hands protectively on her shoulders. "I will make it up to you, I promise."

She looked up at him, wide-eyed. Tears swelled along the bottom rim of her hazel eyes. "Why the hell am I crying over this?" she demanded, stomping her foot. "I cry over everything, it isn't even funny!" Aiame bit forcefully down on her lip. Instead of bursting into tears like he had expected, Edward watched her pout and storm out of the kitchen, carrying the sketchbook with her.

"I just…don't understand her sometimes," Edward muttered, mostly to himself. He glanced around the kitchen – from Winry, to Aya, to Alphonse, to his feet, to the doorway where Aiame had exited – looking for something reassuring.

"If we understood her all of the time," Aya interjected, "then we would have gone insane. The day I understand Aiame's thoughts is the day I will be forced to kill myself."

While the conversation droned on, Winry began fidgeting. She raked her fingers through her blonde hair, twisting the splitting ends around her fingertips. It reminded her that a trip to the beauty shop was long overdue. She bit her lip to keep from frowning, Aiame's words upon her arrival in Risembool echoing in her mind. Winry knew how crazy the idea of her and Ed being together as a couple was, it was hard to believe that Aiame truly thought that he was going to ask anyone other than herself to marry him. She listened to the other three converse, waiting for the right moment to jump in.

"Winry," Ed snapped, turning sharply towards her. "I know you have something to say, just spit it out."

The blonde mechanic shifted her weight back and forth between her feet, dart across the tiled kitchen floor and back. "She thinks… Aiame thinks that you are going to propose… to me," she admits quietly, whispering under her breath. Winry said it like a young child would go about uttering a swear word, like it was the worst thing in the world to say aloud.

Edward's face fell flat. Winry was unable to read his expression. Aya was watching him as well, waiting for response. Eventually, it was Alphonse who broke the silence with a chuckle.

"That is the farthest thing from the truth!" the younger Elric exclaimed.

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean that she isn't upset," Aya murmured. "I am going to talk to her. Hell, we haven't even caught up with each other yet…" She trailed off as she ducked out of the kitchen. A conversation picked up as soon as she was out of the room. She could see Aiame sitting out on the front porch, swaying with the breeze. It reminded her of a tree in the middle of an open field, rocking swiftly with the wind. Her red ringlets were like leaves that blew over her shoulders and her torso was the trunk, attempting to keep still. Aya slipped outside, immediately overwhelming by the blustering wind.

"_I wish I had never come here. I wish I had never decided to become an automail mechanic. I wish that Aya hadn't lost her arm. I wish that I had been smart enough to know that she was right, that it was too dangerous to go out on the water that day. I am stupid. I am horrible. I am worthless…_" As she continued, her words faded as they were swept away by the rushing air. "_…And thank God that whoever is standing behind me cannot understand a word that I'm saying right now._"

"Who said that I couldn't understand you?" asked Aya, in plain Amestrian, setting her hands on her hips. "You just assumed that I was Edward."

Aiame glanced over her shoulder miserably. "I see that Mustang didn't torture you," she muttered. "This would have been my fault, too…"

"Oh, just shut up." Aya sat down beside her, wrapping her arms around her knees. She struggled to keep strands of hair from blowing into her eyes. "No one likes your pity parties."

"What are you doing out here?" asked the redheaded mechanic.

She shrugged and replied, "I came out here to cheer you up. Just because one of your sketchbooks is now soaked with coffee does not mean the end of the world."

Even so, that did not change the fact that Aiame had overreacted. She was more ashamed of that fact now than her ruined sketchbook. Being here was depressing, that and the fact that any moment now Edward could drop to his knee and pull out a ring for Winry. She wanted to run off of a cliff. "Fine then," Aiame sighed. "Distract me."

Aya had to think that for as long as she had known Aiame, the girl had said that much too often. And she had never been good at responding, either. "What do you want to hear?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Have you kissed Alphonse yet?"

Aya did not answer. Her cheeks flared red furiously and she hid her face. It did not take a genius to figure out why she was being quiet.

"Oh dear God, I was kidding!" She stamped her foot against the shabby porch step. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously!" the blonde spat.

Aiame smirked to herself, thinking it was about time one of them had made some sort of move. Then it hit her. _Damn! I miss out on everything…_ "Good."

"Good?" Aya questioned.

"It's great, actually," she clarified. "It is about time that this happened!"

From the window, Edward was waiting for a smile to cross Aiame's lips. As soon as she was in a decent enough mood, he would walk onto the porch, send Aya inside and remove the ring confidently from his pocket. His heart was beating unevenly within his chest, exploding like cannons or fireworks that threatened to crumble his bones. Aya glanced over her shoulder, caught his eye, and smiled. That was when he realized he was just as terrified of Aiame's good mood as he was of her bad mood. Maybe his speech would not save him at a time like this. Maybe he would say no. Maybe…

His list trailed on for what seemed like forever. Ed finally worked up the courage to step outside. Before he was even two steps out onto the porch, Aya had risen from her seat and darted inside, dodging him swiftly.

"Aiame," Ed murmured, just loud enough to make it above the wind.

"Edward." Aiame was ushered to her feet. She stared up at him, smiling.

For the next moment, Ed was at a loss for words. Aiame was sincerely content with just looking at him, soaking in his beauty. Just being around him made her happy; her heart fluttered and she felt that she should be batting her eyelashes around him like a schoolgirl.

"I missed you." He had to refrain from kissing her forehead. He was saving that until she said yes.

"I missed you, too…over the whole twenty-four hours that we were apart." She smiled teasingly.

Edward's smile grew brighter. "It's just that so much happened when we were apart."

Her eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?" asked Aiame.

"I mean that I have a question to ask you."

The next few moments seemed to pass in slow-motion. Aiame watched Edward drop down onto his left knee – his automail knee – and reach into the front pocket of his slacks. It was a move that she had only seen in the cinema and read about in books. Aiame was not stupid, either; she knew what followed a move like that. Ed withdrew his hand, pulling out a satin box that sat in his palm. Her breath caught in her throat. She clenched her teeth together to keep her jaw from dropping and having her look like a gaping idiot. Her eyes widened with shock. Ed flipped the box's lid open and revealed the sparkling ring, gleaming in the sunlight.

Minutes could have passed without her realizing. Hours could have passed and Aiame would have still been oblivious. All that she could comprehend was the fact that Edward was kneeling in front of her on one knee, with a ring in his hand. Hell, she could have _died _and she would not have noticed.

"I know that we have only known each other for a few months, but, I swear this is the happiest I have ever been. With you." Edward beamed, pausing to study her expression. She was still in shock. "You treated my heart like automail; you gave life to a cold, hard chunk of metal inside my chest. Once I realized that, I knew you were the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with." The words were becoming much harder to say aloud. He felt as if they were not enough, words could not do him any justice at a time like this. "I love you, Aiame. To the ends of the earth and back. When it came to this, I always planned on transmuting a ring myself but I don't have the ability anymore. Please, just know I wish I could do something that special for you. You mean the world to me. So, here I am, down on one, automail knee, asking you to be Mrs. Edward Elric. Aiame Kuroshi, will you marry me?"

She could not breathe. She could not think. She could not do anything besides stare up at him with pure shock glazing her hazel eyes. To Edward, that face meant that she was going to say no. He was going to be turned down right on the spot. He did not think he, of all people, could handle that type of rejection.

"Yes," Aiame gasped. She was a broken record, barely able to say even the same thing repeatedly. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes!"

Peering out of the window, Aya and Winry watched Ed slip the ring onto Aiame's finger. The redhead looked as if she was going to pass out, collapse on the spot. As if on cue, the two released a long and high-pitched "Awwwwwww!" The next chapter in their lives was just around the corner, something exciting and uncut. And perhaps the prettiest backyard wedding that Amestris has ever seen.

**Who the hell cares if it was short? It was perfect enough for Aiame, I'm sure, and that is damn good enough for me.**

**Comments are love :D**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Lights had been strung up everywhere from the Rockbell's porch railings, to the scattered trees rooted in the rolling hills of Risembool. They illuminated the wedding beneath elegantly, catching the creation of a white, silk dress Aiame wore with each of her tiny movements. Guests crowded around the sides of the house, dancing and mingling and congratulating the newlyweds. It appeared as if the starry night sky had sunk down to hover mere feet above the party-goers' heads. A certain redhead's heart was still beating a thunder storm in her chest without showing signs of dulling any time soon; it was incomprehensible to her that she was a married woman now. While everyone was enjoying themselves, Aiame could not help but constantly feel this nerve-wracking happiness. The reception soon ended and guests were leaving, but she could not shake her nerves.

It was more like a sleepover than an after-the-after-party. _No, not a sleepover,_ Aiame thought with a grin, _it's like staying in Xing all over again._ She leaned against the doorway, facing the crowded living room of the Rockbell's household. The guests from Xing – Ling, undoubtedly accompanied by Lan Fan, and May – with no other place to stay, were spending the night in Risembool. While she had dashed up into her bedroom to change out of her wedding dress into pajamas, Ed had moved to stand by the window with Ling, both men holding drinks in their hands and laughing cheerfully. Although unseen, Lan Fan was surely keeping an eye on Ling. May was pouting in a corner, watching Al and Aya. Aiame's Maid of Honor, still in her strapless dress, seemed to have fallen asleep beside the younger Elric brother on the loveseat, clinging to his arm with her exposed automail.

As much as she had loved it, Aiame was glad that her wedding was over. Her long winter months of planning and correcting was now over and had certainly paid off, her mind was now at ease. She stepped inside slowly, carefully; her feet were still numb from the killer heels she had stuffed herself into for her wedding. Even then, the top of her head only came up to Edward's nose. "Hi," she sighed, slinging her arm around Ed. She hid her face against her chest, breathing in the scent of him deeply. She had to think that she liked the way he smelled.

"Mrs. Elric," Ed greeted, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She grinned. The scent of wine caught her nose; Aiame had to fight against instincts to keep from wrinkling her nose.

Aiame sighed. "You said that we were leaving in the morning, right?" she asked, referring to their honeymoon. Thinking the words made a shiver run down her spine, she could not help her fangirl tendencies. "I don't want to feel bad that I'm making Winry pack my bags for me so I can spend time with my husband for nothing." She grinned.

"Yes," he murmured in her ear. "And I honestly don't think that Winry minds packing, she is jealous after all."

"Of course she is!" the redhead exclaimed. "I'm the one who has my hands on you now; she has every right to envy me!" After the ordeal several months ago, before they were engaged, Aiame saw Winry in an entirely new light; it was almost like the blonde's crush on Edward was revealed to her then. She hated the realization, but dealt with it easily.

Ling chuckled. "Defensive, aren't we?" he asked, smiling.

Aiame bit down on her lip, resisting the immature urge to stick her tongue out at him. It was almost laughable, that she was a grown woman – a married woman – and still had such childish thoughts. The actions may not have such a big impact on her life anymore, but if anyone knew that they still crossed her mind from time to time, she would be frowned down upon. Aya, of course, would have to look up at her to frown, she had always been short. What she lacked in height, Aya had always made up for in maturity. Aiame glanced over her shoulder at Al and Aya, curled up together. "I have the right to be," she stated simply, returning her attention where it belonged. "He is my husband."

The words had rolled off of her tongue so gracefully; Aiame barely recognized it as her own voice. Her heart fluttered madly at the word, it was still difficult to believe that as true.

Resting on the loveseat, Alphonse held Aya's head in the crook of his neck, cradling her closely against his body. He could not shake the fact that, along with his brother and Aiame and the royals from Xing, Aya would be leaving in the morning. She had kept to herself for through the winter, avoiding as much contact with others as she could. Aya would be living in Central starting the following afternoon, working for the Fuhrer who had left the wedding only hours earlier. He uncurled her metal fingers from his sleeve, setting her arm in her lap. Al shifted her to sit in the corner of the couch and the stood to his feet, stretching his legs. He glanced down at her, pained with sensations of early loneliness; everyone was leaving.

"You can always come back to Xing," May reminded him, stepping in as soon as she had the chance. Her peppy voice stung his ears. Alphonse never thought that there would come a time where he just wanted to suffer through his sadness.

"No, thank you," he said quietly, advancing towards his brother and Aiame.

She pouted. "I don't see why not," she protested, darting in front of him again. "I was told that you will be left here, alone, with nothing to do starting tomorrow. Why not come back and study alkahestry?"

"Because I don't want to," Al snapped. The tone of his voice surprised him, he had never been so rude before in his life. He immediately began apologizing repeatedly, trying to calm her down. May was on the verge of tears, her dark eyes already lined with swelling water. "I'm sorry, but I am more than happy living here. With Aya."

"Will you please calm down, May?" Aya muttered, her voice muffled by the pillow her face was buried against. It was also very convenient to hide the mischievous smirk that had crossed her lips. "Tears aren't a very effective way of flirting, either, in case you haven't noticed." She grinned to herself, happy that she could finally shoot May down in a language that they both spoke.

May stomped her foot. "I was not flirting!" she exclaimed angrily, folding her arms over her chest.

Aiame giggled quietly to herself. "Yes, you were," she murmured under her breath. She turned to look up at Edward, who was continuing to laugh and talk with Ling. The feeling of impenetrable happiness when she was with him had not faded in the least.

"What was that?" Edward asked her, pulling away from his ongoing conversation.

"Nothing," she answered without thinking.

Aiame was soon lost in memories of the night, recalling them when she did not feel up to joining a conversation. She was mentally and physically exhausted. It was hard to believe that she whisked through her own wedding so easily; she struggled to remember hearing anything that was not a hum when it reached her ears. Everything had been perfect.

* * *

Aiame laid her head on Ed's chest; she could feel the scars of automail through the thin fabric. His arm was draped over her waist, holding her comfortably close to him. She was content in this position, if she did not have to, she would never move again. The other bench of the private train compartment was stacked high with suitcases awaiting their honeymoon. Aiame knew that from there, it would not be that long of a train ride to the Aerugian cost, with she saw rather unfortunate. Everything seemed so peaceful how they were now. She smiled to herself, releasing a deep sigh. Marriage was much different than she had expected, even if she had only been wrapped up in it for only a few hours.

"I love you," Edward whispered, twisting a ringlet of red hair around the tip of his finger.

The mechanic uttered a sound of acknowledgement that was supposedly meant to sound like "I love you, too." Her arms slithered around his torso, clutching him tighter.

"I am assuming that you don't want to keep traveling forever," he muttered, musing absentmindedly. The early morning hours had captivated both of their brains, making it difficult to think of anything to discus. Passing the time on a train ride was much harder than it appeared, especially when the benches are terribly uncomfortable and impossible to sleep on. "Where do you think we should look to settle?"

"Central," she slurred, her lips brushing against his shirt.

"Why Central?"

"I just suppose that it's a great place to kick start an automail business since it's a big city – and I am sure that with all of the State Alchemists running around, there will be no shortage of missing limbs – and you will be able to do whatever you want there and Aya is going to working there so surely we will see her and Alphonse every now and again," Aiame muttered, making up her reasons as she went along with the explanation. In truth, it was the only pleasant city that she knew of in Amestris aside from Risembool. She saw no reason not to live there.

"I highly doubt that," Edward sighed hopelessly, catching his wife's attention in a negative way.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked sharply.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I doubt that we will see Aya and Al," he admitted. Despite the new couple being nearly inseparable around Ed and Aiame, there were things almost destined to keep them apart. Before she could ask any more questions regarding what he meant, he continued. "Aya is working directly under Fuhrer Mustang now and Alphonse is working to earn a State Alchemist title. I doubt that they'll be seeing much of each other, let alone us."

"Oh," Aiame sighed, "I think they will be able to manage visiting us. Aya is still going to need automail tune-ups, remember?"

Edward nodded, his golden bangs falling over his eyes. "Speaking of, Mrs. Aiame Elric, I will be requesting your services to fix my own prosthetic once we arrive in Aerugo."

"Since when did you act so proper?" she asked with a mock-Amestrian accent.

"Since I decided that I should act a bit more like an adult than a teenager now that I am married," he told her.

Aiame's eyebrows knit together in confusion. Although it would have sounded like a legitimate reason to anyone else, she never thought that he acted like a teenager. Ed had always been an adult in her eyes. "If you say so," Aiame muttered.

His arms shifted around her, holding her even closer. She could hear his heart beat thumping tiredly in his chest; it was a beautiful sound, it made her wish that she could draw sound. "I do say so," Ed confirmed. He pressed his lips gently against her forehead. "I love you," he repeated.

"I love you, too."

Aiame hoisted herself off of Ed's chest to rest her head in the arch of his neck. Strands of loose, golden hair skimmed against the exposed side of her face. She drew in deep breaths of his scent, wishing that she could draw his smell as well. If she could draw happiness, this would be it. It made with long to have a talent for words, so that she would be able to record and remember every detail of these short, but somehow perfect moments. The first chapter in her life would have been watching her friend's arm sliced off due to her stupidity – a supposedly bad omen for the rest of her life. The next, deciding to become an automail mechanic and after that would consist of meeting Edward. And so on and so forth. The very end of her story would be the wedding, her wedding, her beautifully spectacular wedding. Of course, upon thinking this, Aiame also realized something entirely new:

The wedding had been a formality. It was a party to showcase to announce the fact they were together. It was to show that she was his and he was hers and they were no one else's.

**The end~**

**Author's Note: I honestly hope that this lived up to everyone's expectations. I had so much trouble with it… Anyways, I am sad it had to end and hopefully my readers are too. However, I have posted the first chapter of a sequel on my account. This story is going to focus on Al and Aya more than anything else. Check it out if you are interested!**

**Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has read this story, especially to those who reviewed it. I seriously mean it. And since this is the last chapter, let me know how I finished it. I will go mad without learning if it completely stunk or not… Thank you all, again, very much!**


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